"Arbitrary": Epic Games Store allegedly fails Apple audit
Epic wants to use the Digital Markets Act to force the return of Fortnite on iPhones. Apple is not allowing the store due to alleged formal errors.
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The tug-of-war over Fortnite and the Epic Games Store for iOS is entering a new round: Apple has already rejected the games store twice during the approval process, meaning that it cannot be brought to iPhones, Epic Games announced on Friday. Apple is bothered by the fact that the Games Store uses an installation button and a label for "in-app purchases", which is too similar to the official App Store. According to Epic, it submitted the marketplace to Apple for review at the beginning of July.
Both are industry-standard terms for the installation of apps and in-app purchases that can be found in app stores across all platforms, the games company argues. These are terms that users ultimately understand and expect. Epic is also following the "common conventions for buttons in iOS apps".
Epic complains to EU regulators
Apple's rejection of the marketplace is therefore "arbitrary and obstructive" and a "violation of the Digital Markets Act", which is why Epic has informed the EU Commission about the process. However, the Epic Games Store is still set to launch on iOS in the coming months as announced – provided Apple does not place any further obstacles in the way of the venture.
Epic Games and Apple have been at odds for several years over access to iPhone users and Apple's commissions on in-app purchases. Epic had integrated its own in-app purchase interface into Fortnite overnight and offered its game currency there more cheaply than via Apple's in-app purchase system - an App Store taboo. Apple therefore immediately removed the game from the App Store and withdrew Epic's membership of the Dev Program. This effectively banned the games company from the platform.
Multi-year dispute over Apple commission
Epic lost the subsequent US antitrust lawsuit against Apple on almost all counts, but the final word has not yet been spoken. In the EU, Epic Games wants to use the opening of iOS forced by the Digital Markets Act to bring its game store, including Fortnite, to iPhones. A Swedish Epic subsidiary therefore applied for a new developer account with Apple in the spring, which was first approved, then withdrawn and finally – apparently under pressure from the EU – granted after all.
(lbe)