Epic says revenge caused Apple to block it from opening a third-party app store in the EU
Epic Games was hoping that thanks to the Digital Markets Act (DMA) opening things up for iPhone users in the EU, it would be allowed to create a third-party app storefront for iPhone users to access in the 27 EU countries. Per Bloomberg, Apple has blocked this move preventing Epic from launching its own app storefront and the game developer says that Apple is doing this simply to enact some revenge against it for making comments criticizing Apple.
Earlier today, Apple closed Epic's developer account which Epic called a "serious violation" of the DMA. Apple had already shut Epic's developer account in the U.S. and other markets back in 2020 after the game developer distributed its popular Fortnite game in the App Store with a link to Epic's own in-app payment platform. Because this would allow Epic to bypass the 15%-30% commission that Apple gets for processing in-app payments using its own platform, Epic's actions violated App Store regulations.
In 2020 Epic got tossed from the App Store for including this payment platform in Fortnite against App Store rules
An epic lawsuit ensured and the result was that Apple had to make it easier for developers to link customers with third-party in-app payment platforms. However, Epic was not allowed to force Apple to install the Epic App Store on the iPhone. Apple held out an olive branch to Epic by giving the company a developer account in the EU thanks to the changes being made by the DMA. But that account has been shut down by Apple, and as we noted at the beginning of this article, Epic blames criticism of Apple made by its CEO Tim Sweeney.
Epic, of course, is not happy that Apple closed its EU developer account today and in a statement, the company said, "In terminating Epic’s developer account, Apple is taking out one of the largest potential competitors to the Apple App Store. They are undermining our ability to be a viable competitor and they are showing other developers what happens when you try to compete with Apple or are critical of their unfair practices."
Epic also isn't happy with the new fees Apple plans to charge certain developers. For example, the Core Technology Fee is charged when iOS apps are distributed from the App Store and/or an alternative app marketplace. Developers will pay €0.50 for each first annual install per year over a 1 million threshold. Epic CEO Sweeney describes Apple's plans to comply with the DMA as "hot garbage" and a "horror show."
Apple said today that it had the right to remove Epic's "entities" from its platform due to what the court has ruled in the past was the game developer's "egregious breach of its contractual obligations." In a statement released today, Apple said, "In light of Epic’s past and ongoing behavior, Apple chose to exercise that right."
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