HERE, Cupertino – Apple temporarily closed the account of Epic Games, maker of the game Fortnite, on the App Store amid a legal battle over in-app payment guidelines and allegations of monopoly.
Quoting Reuters, Apple says that their move does not affect the Unreal Epic Games engine, the software hundreds of other app makers rely on.
However, this means iPhone users will not be able to download Fortnite games or other Epic Games titles via the App Store.
Players who have downloaded the Epic Games game can still play, but can no longer make in-app purchases using the Apple payment system.
Earlier this week, a federal court ruled that Apple could block Epic Games games from its app stores, but could not take action to harm Unreal Engine while Epic’s antitrust lawsuit against the iPhone maker was settled.
Apple pulled Epic from the App Store after the game maker implemented a feature that allows iPhone users to make in-app purchases directly, instead of using Apple’s in-app purchase system, which charges a 30 percent commission.
Apple said it would allow Fortnite to return to the App Store app store if Epic Games removed the direct payment feature.
However, Epic refused, saying that complying with Apple’s request would “collude with Apple to maintain their monopoly on in-app payments on iOS.”
Epic Games’ decision to terminate their account on the App Store.
“The court recommended Epic to adhere to the App Store guidelines while their case progressed, a guideline they followed for the last decade until they made this,” said Apple.
“Instead, they repeatedly send out Fortnite updates designed to violate App Store guidelines. It’s unfair to all the other developers on the App Store and puts customers in the middle of a battle,” continued Apple. (ini.com)
– .
