In latest act of Fortnite drama, Epic asks court to reinstate Fortnite on iOS
Epic has filed another preliminary injunction to “stop Apple from retaliating.” The company behind the battle roayle hit wants Apple to restore Fortnite and Epic’s related account in Apple’s Developer Program.
Previously the court refused to lift the ban Apple imposed on Fortnite and Epic’s developer account. This led to a drop of 60 percent in iOS user activity, with the company concerned that those defected players might be lost for good.
Fortnite is more than just a game. It is an intensely social community whose value to its users depends in large part on the ability to connect with other users. Epic has built a community that people rely on. By removing Fortnite from the App Store, Apple has cleaved millions of users from their friends and family in the Fortnite community, which entirely depends on connectivity. The user outcry has been deafening, showing real harm to the public interest. Daily active users on iOS have declined by over 60% since Fortnite’s removal from the App Store. And removal already has resulted in a loss of goodwill and irreparable damage to Epic’s reputation.
Epic Games
“Apple is a monopolist,” says Epic in its new motion. “All Epic seeks is for the court to stop Apple from retaliating against Epic for daring to challenge Apple’s misconduct.”
The motion asks the judge to restrain Apple from the following:
- removing or blocking Fortnite or any other Epic app based on the fact Epic was using direct payment system thus bypassing Apple’s 30% transaction fee;
- blocking updates for Fortnite on iOS;
- “taking any adverse action against Epic,” including suspending or terminating its Developer Program account;
- removing, disabling or modifying any of Fortnite‘s code on iOS.
“This is a necessary step to free consumers and developers from Apple’s costly, anti-competitive control,” the motion reads.
Read more on the dispute between Epic Games and Apple here.
On a related note, Google, which also removed Fortnite from its Google Play, asked the court to address its dispute with Epic separately from the ongoing Epic vs Apple case. According to Google’s statement, Google and Apple “use different business models, agreements, and policies to support competingecosystems.” Therefore, the two cases do not concern “substantiallythe same parties, property, transaction or event.”
