Epic Games, the company behind the video game Fortnite, has expanded the territory of its ongoing dispute with Apple by filing a complaint with the European Union.
The complaint seeks to bring Fortnite — and Epic's own alternate payment processing — back to both mobile platforms' respective storefronts. This appears to be part of a global strategy for Epic Games, as readers will recall that the company has also filed a suit against Apple in Australia. Epic 'flatly' rejected the judge's proposal that, if Epic put Fortnite back on Apple without the hotfix, Apple's 30% take of in-game purchases would be placed in an escrow account until. Feb 17, 2021 'Fortnite' creator Epic Games has taken its fight against Apple to European Union antitrust regulators, ramping up its dispute with the iPhone maker over its App Store payment system. ALSO READ: Fortnite Maker Epic Games Takes Anti-Competition Fight Against Apple, Google to UK Apple and Google did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. In October, a federal judge in California ruled in an injunction request that Apple could bar the Fortnite game from its App Store but must not harm Epic's developer tools business, which includes the 'Unreal Engine'software.
The iPhone maker first earned the ire of Epic when it took action against the company last August for slipping a new payment system into the iOS version of the hit online shooter.
The move prompted Apple to remove the game - reported to be the most popular in the world - from its App Store and accuse Epic of launching the feature with the 'express intent of violating' its guidelines.
Epic responded by launching an antitrust lawsuit in the US, alleging that Apple was exploiting its monopoly over the App Store.
It requested a temporary restraining order against Apple to prevent it from revoking Epic's developer accounts, which it said would cause 'irreparable harm'.
The European Commission's competition regulator, which is also investigating Apple's mobile payment system Apple Pay and the App Store, confirmed receipt of the complaint to Reuters, saying it would be assessed 'based on our standard procedures'.
Macbook pro parallels windows 7 64 bit. Epic's founder and chief executive Tim Sweeney criticised Apple in a news briefing, saying 'the 30% they charge as their app tax, they can make it 50%, or 90%, or 100% - under their theory of how these markets are structured, they have every right to do that'.
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'Epic is not asking any court or regulator to change this 30% to some other number, only to restore competition on iOS,' added Mr Sweeney.
'What's at stake here is the very future of mobile platforms. Consumers have the right to install apps from sources of their choosing and developers have the right to compete in a fair marketplace.
'We will not stand idly by and allow Apple to use its platform dominance to control what should be a level digital playing field,' he added.
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In its statement, Apple said: 'In ways a judge has described as deceptive and clandestine, Epic enabled a feature in its app, which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines that apply equally to every developer and protect customers.
'Their reckless behaviour made pawns of customers, and we look forward to making this clear to the European Commission.'
The legal dispute has drawn in a number of sympathisers with Epic Games, with Facebook assisting the firm to provide relevant information on how Apple's policies adversely impacted the company.
Apple and Facebook are on course for a series of clashes as court cases and technological developments pit their business models against each other - with the technology industry set to be reshaped in the winner's image.
Apple has also prohibited games-streaming apps from the App Store, including Google's Stadia and Microsoft's new Xbox xCloud.
This prompted Microsoft to criticise Apple, saying it 'stands alone as the only general purpose platform to deny consumers from cloud gaming and game subscription services like Xbox Game Pass'.
'[Apple] consistently treats gaming apps differently, applying more lenient rules to non-gaming apps even when they include interactive content,' Microsoft added.
The studio behind the popular video game Fortnite, Epic Games, has brought its ongoing spat with Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) to the attention of European antitrust regulators in the latest escalation of a dispute over the tech giant's App store payment system and download control.
The dispute was sparked in August last year when Epic launched its own payments system for its in-game currency in an attempt to dodge the 30% fee that Apple usually charges for in-app purchases on its App Store.
READ: Apple delivers record quarterly revenues as home working boosts demand for Macs and iPads
As a result, Apple blocked Fortnite from the App Store and also threatened to effectively block distribution of the Unreal Engine, software tools that are used by hundreds of other apps and games.
Epic Games Sues
In its initial lawsuit, Epic Games said it is not seeking money from Apple, but rather injunctions that will end certain practices permitted on its app store, alleging that the tech firm engaged in anticompetitive practices by effectively maintaining a monopoly on what apps are available on its iPhone devices. Photo editing app on macbook pro.
Epic is not alone, with companies such as Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT) and dating app owner Match Group Inc (NASDAQ:MTCH) also having criticised Apple's practices.
However, Apple has hit back saying that Epic may have used the incident to try and garner user support for its own competing app store.
READ: Fortnite maker Epic Games sues Apple and Google over game's removal from app stores
Epic's appeal to the European Commission's antitrust authorities is likely to add yet another case to the already stacked pile of disputes Apple finds itself embroiled in with the EU's regulators.
The company is already facing an investigation by the Commission over its mobile payment system Apple Pay as well as its App Store, while over in the UK Epic has also taken its fight to the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
Shares in Apple were down 0.4% at US$132.63 in pre-market trading in New York on Wednesday.
