BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Fortnite creator Epic Games has taken its fight against Apple to European Union antitrust regulators, ramping up the dispute with the iPhone maker over its App Store payment system and control over app downloads.
The two companies have been involved in a legal dispute since August last year, when the game maker tried to avoid Apple’s 30% tariff on some in-app purchases in the App Store by launching its own in-app payment system.
That prompted Apple to kick Epic’s Fortnite game from the App Store and threaten to terminate an affiliate account that would effectively kill the distribution of Unreal Engine, a software tool used by hundreds of app makers to create games. have blocked.
Epic Games founder and Chief Executive Tim Sweeney said Apple’s control over its platform had tipped the level playing field.
“The 30% they charge as app tax they can go up to 50% or 90% or 100%. According to their theory of how these markets are structured, they have every right to do so, ”he told reporters.
“Epic is not asking any court or regulator to change this 30% to another figure just to restore competition on iOS,” he said, referring to Apple’s mobile operating system.
The company also accused Apple of keeping rivals from launching their own gaming subscription service on its platform by preventing them from bundling different games, even though its own Apple Arcade service does.
Apple said the rules applied equally to all developers and Epic violated them.
“In ways that a judge has described as deceitful and clandestine, Epic has enabled a feature in its app that was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines that are equally valid. apply to every developer and protect customers, ”the company said in a statement.
“Their reckless behavior turned customers into pawns, and we look forward to making this clear to the European Commission,” he said.
Apple has taken small steps to change its practices in recent months, including lowering fees for some developers and offering them a way to contest its claims, neither of which meets the company’s critics.
Fortnite will come back to iPhone in the Safari mobile browser at some point. Epic and Apple have been trading documents and making statements in recent weeks ahead of a scheduled trial in May in the Epic lawsuit filed last year.
The Commission, which is investigating Apple’s mobile payment system Apple Pay and the App Store, has confirmed receipt of the complaint.
“We will assess it according to our standard operating procedures,” said a Commission spokeswoman.
Epic Games has also filed a complaint with the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal and with the Australian watchdog.
Major companies such as Microsoft Corp, Spotify and Match Group Inc have also criticized Apple’s App Store rates and rules.
Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis and Paresh Dave in San Francisco; Edited by Barbara Lewis, Edmund Blair and David Goodman