The epic A serious threat may arise in the EU. apple suspended the company’s developer account just one day later Compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) for third-party app stores in Europe. Epic says it is “unable to develop the Epic Games Store for iOS” due to the ban, calling the move “a serious violation of the DMA.” In other words,
The Fortnite the developer blogged about the matter and shared a letter sent by Apple lawyers, calling Epic Games “certifically unreliable” and suggesting that the reason for the ban was Apple’s fear that Epic would not honor the contractual agreements inherent in the acquisition. developer account. It should be noted that Apple so the company had no compliance fears at that time.
Apple’s plan to block Europe’s new Digital Markets Act law is a sneaky new example of Harmful Compliance.
They force developers to choose between App Store exclusivity and store terms that would be illegal under the DMA, or accept a new illegal anti-competitive offer…
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) January 25, 2024
But what has changed? Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney was particularly vocal calling them “an insidious new example of pernicious conformity.” Apple is technically DMA-compliant, Sweeney says, but it severely undercuts third-party app stores in several ways, calling it “an anti-competitive scheme rife with new unnecessary fees for downloads and new Apple taxes for fees they don’t process.”
These claims aren’t entirely unfounded, though Sweeney and his company are far from disinterested parties. “Third-party app stores must meet Apple’s Notarization requirements, along with all of their strict rules regarding moderation, piracy, fraud, and payment disputes. Apple must comply with these rules.” If it detects any conflicting software, it has the right to block it. once an app was downloaded more than a million times, that’s about 54 cents per install each year. Consumers must share a letter from a top financial institution proving they have access to at least $1.1 million in credit to resolve potential financial disputes. There is also a fixed commission that varies between 15 and 30 percent for each transaction.
after about the new app store rules, Apple’s Phil Schiller sent an email to Epic Games on February 23 asking for a “written assurance” that the company would comply. “Say in clear, unambiguous terms why we should trust Epic this time,” the letter said.
Sweeney responded that “Epic and its subsidiaries are acting in good faith and will comply with all terms of existing and future agreements with Apple, and we would be happy to provide Apple with any additional assurances on the subject matter that you desire. ” That didn’t make Apple happy, as it continued to bill the developer this week.
Epic responded that the move undermines its “ability to be a viable competitor” and criticizes Apple’s “unfair practices for showing other developers what happens when you try to compete.” The developer calls the ban a simple response “against Epic for speaking out against Apple’s unfair and illegal practices.”
Apple takes things differently. He blames it on “Epic’s gross breach of contractual obligations.” The iPhone maker went on to say that “Epic Games reserves the right to terminate any or all of its subsidiaries, affiliates and/or other entities controlled by Epic Games at any time and in Apple’s sole discretion. Given Epic’s past and ongoing conduct, Apple has chosen to exercise this right.
Despite all this bad blood, the developer still plans to bring it Fortnite to iOS, possibly through an unrelated third-party storefront. This too Apple Vision Pro for Unreal Engine.
Today’s development includes the DMA, a law that designates large companies as “gatekeepers” and specific services like Apple’s App Store as “core platform services.” The law forces these services to interoperate with competing products to stay compliant. That’s why Apple allows third-party app stores in the first place.
However, the bad blood between the two companies goes back long before DMA was a glimmer in the EU’s eye. Epic Games fought against Apple’s developer operating fee policy since 2020 gets antitrust lawsuit California’s Ninth Circuit ruled in Epic’s favor, saying Apple violated the state’s Unfair Competition law. SCOTUS refused so that’s where it stands now. But the Ministry of Justice is like that v. Apple.
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