on the crypto
Epic Games, the creator of "Fortnite", has launched a "battle royale" against Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc., filing legal action against the two tech giants against an illegal monopoly on apps and in-app purchases.
The lawsuit
Epic Games filed the lawsuit against Apple shares AAPL, Alphabet's GOOGL and Google's GOOG after the two tech giants launched the company's flagship game “Fortnite” on their app stores on Thursday.
The appearance in the app stores came after Epic's public announcement to its players for an offer on in-game purchases for payments directly on Epic. Apple and Google take up to 30% of all purchases in their app stores.
In the lawsuit against Apple, Epic said it would seek to "end the unfair and anti-competitive actions Apple takes to illegally maintain its monopoly."
Apple is worth nearly $ 2 trillion thanks to revenue from iPhone sales and the apps and services provided through it. According to some data, Apple collects about 30 million dollars a month from Fortnite. Epic has long tried to avoid paying such fees.
"Google has eliminated competition in Android app distribution using a myriad of contractual and technical barriers," Epic said during a legal argument about Apple's control of the iOS ecosystem.
Can you still download Fortnite on Android?
Those who own an Android device will still be able to play by downloading it through the Epic app store, but not through the official Google store “because it violates our policies,” according to a Google statement.
Epic states on its website that players who have already downloaded "Fortnite" on their Apple mobile devices "should have no problem continuing to play Chapter 2 - Season 13.40 Update 3".
Once the new season begins, Epic expects players to be able to play previous content but not access the new material. An Apple spokesperson said Epic Games introduced the feature without the company's approval and did so "with the clear intent of violating the App Store guidelines for in-app payments." Apple further states that it "will make every effort to work with Epic to resolve these violations so that they can return" Fortnite "to the App Store."
#freefortnite
As part of its blitz against Apple, the company launched a page on its website with the slogan "#FreeFortnite" telling customers to use that hashtag to support Epic by interacting with the official Twitter account of the App Store.
The hashtag was trending on Twitter within an hour of the site's launch. Apple's App Store fee policies have recently been subject to increased scrutiny by developers and regulators.
Other big developers, including Spotify Technology SA SPOT, have been looking for a possible way to cut Apple's tariffs. Regulators and lawmakers in both the US and Europe have also questioned the company's App Store policies.
