Apple has recently decided to ban the extremely popular Fortnite game from the App Store after the developers shipped out a new update that allowed users to buy in-game currency without the App Store at a discounted price. This update helps the company bypass the 30% commission that Apple regularly charges for all in-app purchases powered by the App Store. This was in bad taste for Apple as they would lose a significant chunk of Fortnite revenue. Epic Games was most certainly aware that Apple would take action against this as it is a direct violation of the App Store guidelines.
What Did Fortnite Do to get themselves removed from the App Store?
Epic Games announced the new update and the Mega Drop Initiative on Thursday last week and within hours, it was removed from the Apple App Store. The 20% discount on the V-Bucks will continue to be available on the PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, PC, and Mac leaving iOS users to vain. Apple released a statement shortly after removing the Fortnite from the App Store, this statement highlighted the fact that Fortnite Developers, Epic Games violated the App Store guidelines, and this resulted in the band. Apple also stressed on the fact that the guidelines applied equally to all the developers and are designed to keep the App Store a safe place for the users.
According to this violation of the guidelines, Apple has removed the Fortnite app from the Apple App Store. Epic enabled a new feature in the app that was not reviewed and approved by Apple and this was likely done with the intent of violating the guidelines regarding in-app payments which applies to all the apps, and other digital good that is made available on the Apple portal. Epic Games is a famous developer and has had apps on the App Store for over a decade and has benefitted from the App ecosystem including the tools for testing, and distribution that is provided by Apple.
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Is this a Marketing Stunt?
Epic Games lawsuit clearly states that the company doesn’t expect any special treatment which is not offered to others, instead Epic is seeking relief and allow fair competition in key markets that affect hundreds of millions of users and several thousands of app developers who spend multiple hours a day making apps that offer value on iOS and Android. The company had a similar complaint with Google with Epic clarifying that they are not seeking any favorable treatment, while it is obvious that winning this battle against the giants would mean that Epic ends up making more money but the implications of the lawsuit are going to affect a lot more developers in a positive manner especially when it comes to smaller app developers.
For the users who are wondering if this is a publicity stunt done by Epic Games to call out Apple for the unfair practices that it has been following for years. The company has also confirmed the same by announcing that it will release a new video called the Nineteen Eighty Fortnite which is a parody of the famous Apple Commercial from 1980. The Fortnite developer has also filed a complaint against Apple and has referred to Apple as a monopoly, also calling the iPhone manufacturers practices as anti-competitive. This has been an ongoing complaint of the CEO of Epic Games for several years now, but the prolonged tussle has only recently turned into a full-scale digital war.
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