In an extensive interview with CNN BusinessTim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, says his company spent months preparing the lawsuit against Apple, which is internally code-named “Project Liberty.”
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Epic launched an all-out attack on Apple after it removed Fortnite from the App Store in August after the app implemented a direct payment method for in-app purchases. The App Store policy requires all apps to use their own system for in-app purchases, giving Apple a 30% commission on all purchases. Epic’s refusal to adhere to the policy resulted in the app being kicked off the platform.
Sweeney said in his interview that Epic “spent months” developing and preparing its lawsuit against Apple, which notably launched and publicly announced within hours of Fortnite being removed from the “App Store”.
Internally, Epic calls the lawsuit “Project Liberty,” which clearly reflects the idea that the lawsuit is intended to further open up Apple’s platforms to smaller developers, thus giving them “freedom.” While the focus of the lawsuit is the App Store’s 30% commission policy, Sweeney says it basically boils down to the idea that he believes open platforms are “the key to free markets and the future of computers.”
Developers have questioned whether the 30% commission is a fair price that developers should pay back to Apple, given that “Epic Games” made $ 1.3 billion in 2020 from Fortnite in-game purchases.
“Epic Games” was valued at $ 17.3 billion at the end of last year, and financially, Sweeney says Epic has “the financial independence” to pursue its lawsuit against Apple and Google, largely due to the fact that “Epic Games” is not a publicly traded company.
When pressed for details of how much his lawsuit against Apple Epic cost, Sweeney declined to answer, simply saying it takes “a lot” of leadership time for the company. However, it is clear that with millions of Apple users unable to play Fortnite on their devices, the company is likely to face some financial struggles as iOS users have generated more than $ 1.2 billion in revenue for Epic since joining the platform. was launched, according to Sensor Tower data quoted by CNN Business.
All in all, however, Sweeney says the struggles are worth it for fear that the future of platforms like the “App Store” will be completely dominated by platform owners like Apple, and have no other developers.
“[The companies] just do that industry by industry and app category by app category until they gobble up everything that matters. And who is left? Sweeney said. One million indie developers who collectively earn a small percentage of the app store revenue because these companies are too small to be attractive to steal. “
Finally, Sweeney addresses controversial comments he made in November, stating that the fight for civil rights and Epic’s fight for platform “freedom” are similar. The comments sparked widespread backlash, and in response Sweeney says he believes “it is perfectly healthy” to draw similarities between “vital causes in the history of the world” and the struggles on app platforms.
“The thing is, if you really want to make a difference, you have to go against the system,” Sweeney said in response to the criticism. “I think we can learn a lot from the previous human struggles and I think it is perfectly healthy to apply struggles of vital causes in the history of the world to smaller problems such as software platforms.”
Recently, Epic Games filed a complaint against Apple in the UK, alleging that Apple’s removal of Fortnite from the “App Store was “illegal” and sought to restore the app. The UK complaint followed in the footsteps of Epic’s agreements in the United States and Australia. Across all countries, Epic says it is not seeking damages from Apple, but simply “seeking fair access and competition that will benefit all consumers.” Both companies are preparing to appear in court in July this year.