The official Fortnite Twitter account parodies the situation with a video that has become a global trend. That’s how things are between them.
Epic Games has responded to Apple after the expulsion of Fortnite from the App Store with a video in the form of a parody where they mock or try to downplay this movement, which will prevent millions of iOS players from being able to continue downloading the game on iPhone terminals and iPad. Converted into a global trend, the video highlights the legal tension that currently exists between both parties in light of the implementation of direct payment in the video game. They invite the players to rebel.
What’s Happening Between Apple and Epic Games: A Matter of Percentages
Although Apple is not the only one, since Google has also eliminated Fortnite from the Play Store, from Epic they did have an ace up their sleeve to appease the impact of this action at the media level. “Epic Games challenged the App Store monopoly. In retaliation, Apple is blocking Fortnite on a billion devices, ”they say.
What do you mean by monopoly? Neither more nor less than the 30% direct commission that Apple forces any developer to take through the continued monetization of their applications (either purchase or microtransaction).
Epic Games challenged the App Store monopoly. In retaliation, Apple is blocking Fortnite on 1 billion devices. Visit https://t.co/Z83GvgINB4 and join the fight so that 2020 does not become “1984”. pic.twitter.com/dRPDpWKhNb
– Fortnite_ES (@Fortnite_ES) August 13, 2020
When buying V-Bucks, for example, Apple always took 30%; Now, with the direct payment implementation, users can pay the total only to Epic Games, saving a few euros (20%) along the way. The image exemplifies it. Apple has not tolerated it.
“Visit http://fn.gg/freefortnite and join the fight so that 2020 does not become” 1984 “, they add in the tweet. In the statement, accompanied by the hashtag #FreeFortnite, they explain Epic’s position, which has taken the case to court so that it is the current legislation in the United States that determines who is right in this conflict of interest.
A legal pulse with a long history behind
The tension between Apple and Google with Epic Games goes back a long way. For starters, the game debuted on mobile devices without a presence in the iOS and Android digital stores. That waiting period of almost a year and a half was intervened by a multitude of percentage-based negotiations. The panoramas are different between the two stores, however.
On the one hand, on Android developers can publish their applications directly in their own application store; that is, without going through Google Play, which will guarantee that the absence of Fortnite in said store will not result in the impossibility of downloading Fortnite on Android. With this move, Epic saves 30% commission. In Apple there is no other download alternative, so it is much more difficult to find an alternative legal method since, for example, in Android you can go to the Samsung Galaxy Store.
