Fortnite vs Apple

Fortnite was banned from the App Store by Apple. But why? Epic games updated Fortnite on 13 August in order to provide an option for direct payment of V-bucks, the currency in the game. However, there is a problem, Apple claims that Epic is violating the payment system of the App Store Guidelines. Why? Because Apple's normal 30 percent fee was bypassed by Epic Games.

So, several hours after the update, Apple yanked Fortnite from the app store saying that the Epic Games took an unfortunate step and was trying to get a special arrangement.

also said that the App Store guidelines provided all developers with the same playing field, that its payment system guarantees that customers' data is secure. But the issue is bigger than just the 30% charge. Apple is currently being criticized for handling not only the App Store and its required fees but also how it imposes its rules in a manner that some developers and critics believe is unreasonable and may in fact be designed to benefit Apple over its competitors.

A few weeks ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook testified in the U.S. Antitrust Hearing and one of the main questions was about this 30 percent fee. During the hearing, Rep. Johnson questioned Apple what stopped Apple from increasing its purchase cuts to 50%. Tim Cook pointed out that since Apple Store launched, they never increased the cut above 30%, here is a video of the hearing.

Here is the real question, was the direct payment move a bait? The answer is yes. After that update, Epic Games realized they would be banned, and they were happy, of course. Almost immediately after Fortnite was pulled, Apple got hit with an antitrust lawsuit. Epic Games said in a legal brief that Apple is a monopoly and that the company wishes to provide relief to encourage equal competition in-app distribution.

Epic says they don't wish to obtain special privileges, because they represent tens of thousands of Apple's monopoly victims.

However, it's not just Apple versus Epic Game. Google also kicked off Fortnite, which took the same 30 percent cut from its own developers. Epic Games already had a lawsuit ready and submitted it soon after being removed from the Google Play Store.

It was not only about Apple here. Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook have a real spotlight right now and, in the case particularly on Apple, on how it runs the app store and whether it is competitive or not. Epic Games is probably trying to take advantage of this spotlight and could push Apple to fight back and seem even more uncompetitive or aggressive, hoping that Apple's spotlight gets a little dimmer.

The purpose of Epic Game here is simple: Get Apple and Google to either allow app for direct payment and bypass Apple's and Google's 30% cut, thus increasing their profits by 30 percent or the cut across-the-board to something that they believe is fairer.

Is there a chance they can win? And maybe the answer is yes, I guess. Epic Games is a company big and powerful enough to take on these tech giants, Apple, and Google. All we can do for now is hope for the best.

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