The conflict that ties both companies together will be held in person. It all started with the battle of the percentage rate of income in Fortnite.
Yvonne Gonzalez, judge of the Northern District of California, has defined the date of May 3 as the day when Apple and Epic Games will meet to deal with the conflict that surrounds both multinationals. After starring in a lengthy legal dispute regarding the percentage of income obtained through video games such as Fortnite, which reached a public appearance, the lawsuit initiated in August 2020 will result in the ruling of this judge in just a couple of months.
The news coincides with the information known on February 17, when Epic Games filed a complaint against Apple in the European Union, thus demonstrating that those responsible for the Unreal Engine and the Epic Games Store did not forget this matter.
What happened between Epic Games and Apple
We go back to the month of August 2020. Apple, responsible for iPhone iPad devices, in addition to hosting more than 73 million Fortnite players, established a rate of 30% (the same as Google) as a percentage received from all purchases in game (microtransactions, battle passes …) in the title. Epic Games’ response dated August 13 was to permanently lower that percentage to 20% from its internal store. This translated into greater savings for the player and, in the public eye, a gesture in favor of the users by Epic Games. In summary, through the measure the cheapest way to buy V-Bucks for Fortnite was the Epic Games store itself; an unequal condition between purchase alternatives.
Apple’s response was to remove Fortnite from the App Store, making it impossible to download the game from its store and setting an expiration date for its enjoyment; update support was abandoned and, therefore, with the passage of weeks it would be impossible to play. Google also removed the game from the Play Store, in the meantime. Apple, in late August, threatened to revoke developer access to Epic later that month.
From there, accusations, complaints such as that of Apple to the CEO of EPic Games, Tim Sweeney, requesting preferential treatment, advertisements, speculation, and the elevation of the conflict to the Northern District of California as a precautionary measure, a measure that has remained in state of opinion to date.
Soon we will know the ruling of Judge Yvonne Gonzalez.
