Julie Clover
Epic Games plans to introduce its Epic Games Store on iPhone and iPad in accordance with Apple's new alternative app store policy in the European Union – Epic Games announced today.
The Epic Games The popular game Fortnite will appear in the store, which means iPhone and iPad users will be able to install the game and play it without the need for a cloud gaming service. Fortnite has been blocked from the iOS App Store for the past few years due to a legal dispute between Apple and Epic Games.
Fortnite will return to iOS in Europe in 2024 and will be distributed through the upcoming @EpicGames Store for iOS . Stay tuned for more details as we figure out regulatory deadlines. We will continue to prove to the courts and regulators that Apple is breaking the law. https://t.co/MHh6EGVinC — Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) January 25, 2024
Although Epic plans to hold Epic Games iOS app store, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney criticized Apple's planned changes. Sweeney said Apple App Store The changes are “an insidious new example of malicious compliance” and are intended to violate the Digital Markets Act.
Apple's plan to thwart Europe's new digital markets law is an insidious new example of Malicious Compliance. They force developers to choose between App Store exclusivity and store terms that would be illegal under the DMA, or adopt a new, also illegal, anti-competitive law… — Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) January 25, 2024
Apple charges €0.50 per user per year for apps installed outside the App Store (and in the App Store for developers who agreed to the new terms and still prefer to use the Apple system), but in the App Store no apps. commissions or in-app fees. While Apple is waiving the fee for the first million installs, the 0.50 per user fee will cost app developers like Epic Games a significant amount of money. Sweeney called Apple's payments “junk fees.”
Sweeney also criticizes Apple for its notarization process, which would potentially allow it to reject alternative iOS app stores. He claims that Apple may block Epic from launching Epic Games Store and distribute Fortnite through it, but there has been no indication that Apple will do so.
Epic Games “intends” to launch on iOS and compete with the App Store, Sweeney said, and although Epic Games plans to open a store on iOS, the company says it will continue to “prove to the courts and regulators that Apple is breaking the law.”
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