In retaliation to Epic Games’ attempt to work around the commissions owed to Apple, Apple pulled Fortnite, a game developed by Epic Games, from the App Store citing a violation of Apple’s core policies which requires a 30 percent cut on the revenue generated by developers to distribute their applications through its App Store.
The latest update of Fortnite includes a direct payment wall which bypasses Apple’s 30 percent cut.
To counter this, Epic laid a deliberate trap expecting this retaliation and filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Apple in California, stating that Apple exercises a monopoly over its online store.
“Apple has become what it once railed against: the behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition, and stifle innovation. Apple is bigger, more powerful, more entrenched, and more pernicious than the monopolists of yesteryear,” Epic said in itslawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California.
Read also:Apple and Google Sued by Epic Games for Removing Fortnite from App Stores
In addition to this, Apple has also threatened to remove Epic’s access to its developer tools needed to operate Unreal Engine, a tool owned by Epic, that supports creating games and helps game developers to create three-dimensional graphics.
Last week, Epic Games said that it had asked a judge to block this move of Apple pulling Fortnite and prevent moves to pull other games developed by the creator.
The video game sensation creator also uploaded a protest video aimed to mock Apple’s popular 1984 commercial.
And Google followed suit by removing Fortnite from its Play Store citing similar issues.
In a recent development, Microsoft defended the video game creator on Sunday by declaring in a court filing that Apple’s decision to block access to crucial developer tools would jeopardise the efforts of other game developers and end-users as well.
In a hearing recently, the judge in this battle has denied the Epic’s motion to block Fortnite’s removal but ordered Apple to not cut Unreal Engine access.
Epic Games, after filing a lawsuit against Apple had said it would be hosting a free Fortnite tournament to promote #FreeFortnite hashtag and encourage its users to switch between platforms to continue enjoying Fortnite.
The company, in a tweet, said “All of your friends. Fabulous prizes. And one bad apple. We’re dropping the #FreeFortnite Cup on August 23.”
Players who compete in this tournament will also have a chance to win non-Apple products like an Alienware laptop, an OnePlus 8, a PlayStation 4 Pro, an Xbox One X, a Galaxy Tab S7, or a Nintendo Switch.