Epic Games has made another appeal to a judge to block Apple from removing “Fortnite” from Apple’s App Store in what the game maker calls “retaliation” for offering in-app purchases through its own marketplace. Epic’s request for a court action last Friday comes after Epic was denied an order last month that would have temporarily stopped Apple from removing “Fortnite” from the App Store.
Malathi Nayak for Bloomberg News:
Apple released a statement maintaining it isn’t backing down, adding that there’s no chance of the companies working together as things stand.
Epic “repeatedly submit Fortnite updates designed to violate the guidelines of the App Store,” Apple said. “This is not fair to all other developers on the App Store and is putting customers in the middle of their fight.”
Their simmering dispute intensified Aug. 13 when Epic told customers it would begin offering a discounted direct purchase plan for items in Fortnite. Apple then removed the app from its App Store…
Fortnite players have spent almost $1.2 billion through Apple’s App Store and nearly $9.7 million though Google Play on in-game purchases, according to mobile-app market data firm Sensor Tower. That generated revenue of about $354 million for Apple and $3 million for Google.
MacDailyNews Take: The Hee Haw demographic has rarely been lit so starkly.
In August, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued a mixed ruling following Epic’s initial face-off with Apple in her court. While she declined to order Apple to restore the Fortnite app, she agreed to temporarily block the iPhone maker from limiting Epic’s ability to provide Unreal Engine, key graphics technology for developers, for other apps.
MacDailyNews Take: Operative word in the headline: Apple’s.
Epic Games wants all of the benefits afforded to it by Apple’s App Store for free.