Epic’s plan to launch its own iOS app store in the EU may be in jeopardy. Apple has terminated the company’s developer account just a day after iOS 17.4 finally allowed third-party app stores in Europe under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Epic says it is “unable to develop the Epic Games Store for iOS” due to the ban and called the move a “serious DMA violation.” In other words, the biggest conflict in technology continues.
The Fortnite developer published a blog post on the matter and shared a letter sent by Apple’s lawyers calling Epic Games “provably untrustworthy,” suggesting that the reason for the ban was Apple’s fears that Epic would not honor the contractual obligations inherent in obtaining a developer account. It’s worth noting that Apple granted Epic a developer account earlier this year, so the company didn’t have any compliance concerns at the time.
So what has changed? Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has been particularly outspoken about the EU App Store changes, calling them “an insidious new case of malicious subjugation.” Sweeney says Apple is technically compliant with the DMA, but is seriously undermining third-party app stores in a variety of ways, calling it “an anti-competitive scheme filled with new download fees and new Apple taxes on payments they don’t process.”
These allegations are not without merit, although Sweeney and his company can hardly be called innocent lambs without their own interests. Third-party app stores must comply with Apple’s notarization requirements, with all of its strict rules regarding moderation, piracy, fraud, and payment disputes. Apple has the right to shut down any application if it discovers anything that circumvents these rules. In addition, developers must pay core technology fees once the app has been downloaded more than a million times, which works out to about 54 cents per install per year. Prospective developers must also provide a letter from a leading financial institution confirming access to a loan of at least $1.1 million to resolve potential financial disputes. There is also a fixed fee for each transaction, which ranges from 15 to 30 percent.
After Sweeney openly complained about the new app store rules, Apple’s Phil Schiller emailed Epic Games on Feb. 23 asking for a “written assurance” that the company would honor its obligations. “In simple, unequivocal words, please tell us why we should trust Epic this time,” the letter ends.
Sweeney responded that “Epic and its subsidiaries act in good faith and will comply with all terms of current and future agreements with Apple, and we will be happy to provide Apple with any specific further assurances you wish on this topic.” This did not seem to satisfy Apple.
Epic responded that banning the account undermines its “ability to be a viable competitor” and that Apple is “showing other developers what happens when you try to compete” or “criticizing their unfair practices.” The developer calls the ban simple retaliation “against Epic for speaking out against Apple’s unfair and illegal actions.”
Apple has a different way of looking at things. In a statement released 9to5Mac, she laid the blame on Epic’s “blatant violation of its contractual obligations.” The iPhone maker continued by saying it has “the right to terminate the accounts of any or all of Epic Games’ wholly owned subsidiaries, affiliates and/or other entities under the control of Epic Games at any time and in Apple’s sole discretion. In light Epic’s past and current conduct, Apple has chosen to exercise this right.”
Despite all this animosity, the developer still plans to release Fortnite on iOS, likely through a third-party store not affiliated with them. It also adds experimental Unreal Engine support for Apple Vision Pro.
Today’s development stems from the DMA, a law that forces services like the App Store to become compatible with competing products in order to remain compliant. This is why Apple allows third-party app stores in principle.
However, the bad relationship between Apple and Epic goes back long before the DMA. Epic Games has been fighting Apple’s developer transaction fee policies since 2020, taking the antitrust case all the way to the Supreme Court. California’s Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of Epic, saying Apple violated the state’s unfair competition law, although it did not call Apple a monopoly. The Supreme Court declined to hear appeals from both Apple and Epic, so that’s where things stand now. However, the Justice Department is reportedly considering its own antitrust case against Apple.
