In Day Two, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney continued his testimony in Epic Games v. Apple, confirming that Apple’s 30 percent cut is also the “most prevalent rate” that other platforms charge.
Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo all take a 30 percent cut from Epic Games on their platforms and require their in-app purchase systems to be used, but Sweeney said that Epic is not challenging them because he believes in the idea of “subsidized hardware,” though he also admitted that iPhone and iOS development is “very similar.”
Sweeney confirmed that Epic Games has a history of bullying platform makers. Epic Games pushed Sony into allowing cross-platform play, but Sony ultimately got the upper hand and requires additional payment to enable cross-platform capabilities, unlike iOS, where cross-platform play is free and has been since Fortnite launched on the App Store.
Apple pointed out Epic Games’ use of Apple’s Metal API and shared correspondence where Sweeney and Epic had praised Metal in the past as evidence that Epic benefits from Apple’s APIs and SDKs.
MacDailyNews Take: Smirk.
Epic Games inexplicably wants all of the benefits afforded by Apple’s App Store for free.
By the way, how much did it cost developers to have their applications burned onto CDs, boxed, shipped, and displayed on store shelves prior to Apple remaking the world for the better for umpteenth time?