Antitrust war: Apple tries to nip the revolt of the publisher of Fortnite in the bud

Far from the Mediterranean gas fields or the Belarusian demonstrations which make the news, a Homeric battle has been stirring the digital world since mid-August.

In the role of the challenger, video game publisher Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, who filed a complaint against Apple on Monday August 17 to prevent the California giant from excluding the game from its application store. Facing him, the apple firm with $ 1.9 trillion in market capitalization in the role of guardian of the temple. The subject of the dispute: the sacrosanct rule of the 30% commission levied by Apple on transactions from third-party publishers carried out on iOS.

Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and has informed Epic that on Friday, August 28 Apple will terminate all our developer accounts and cut Epic off from iOS and Mac development tools. We are asking the court to stop this retaliation. Details here: https://t.co/3br1EHmyd8

The attack turns out badly for the Cupertino company, which, like the other Gafams, is targeted by accusations of anti-competitive monopolistic practices.

Epic wants public opinion on its side

The spark that ignited the powder is the decision of Epic Games, on August 13, to offer within the mobile version of Fortnite access to the virtual currency of the game - which allows for example to customize its avatars using real euros or dollars - without going through Apple or Google's payment systems.

A method that allows Epic Games to avoid their commissions, but which violates the terms of use imposed by the two Gafams in their respective online stores. The reaction of the Californian behemoths was rapid: within a few hours, the game Fortnite was banned from these stores, preventing any new user from downloading it on Android and iOS systems.

An escalation anticipated by Epic Games which draws, on August 17, a lawsuit for abuse of dominant position and requests that the game be made available again. A few days earlier, a parody video of an old Apple ad denouncing an Orwellian computer universe was broadcast on Fortnite and social networks.

"Epic Games has defied the App Store monopoly. In retaliation, Apple is blocking Fortnite on a billion devices. Join the fight to prevent 2020 from becoming '1984'," writes the video game publisher , which focuses on gaining public support in what it anticipates to be trench warfare.

Many content publishers are watching the ongoing battle with interest. Some have already emerged from the shadows, such as the online music listening service Spotify, which in 2019 initiated a similar procedure in European justice.

Revolt rumbles around the Apple Citadel

For the giant of Cupertino, it was therefore urgent to nip in the bud these inclinations of revolt. Apple's response took the form of an ultimatum that risks leaving the rebellious publisher KO standing.

Epic Games announced Tuesday that Apple was threatening to withdraw its access to all its developer accounts on iOS and macOS by August 28 if it did not fall into line. These accesses are essential for the video game publisher, which derives a large part of its revenue from its game engine, the Unreal Engine. The latter is offered under license to other developers for whom the iOS environment is a natural outlet. Apple's ultimatum therefore puts Epic Games at odds with its own customers.

The Apple firm defends its 30% commission as the price to pay to maintain a healthy and functional environment for third-party publishers.

For his part, the director of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney, protests against the "tyrannical taxes" which he believes represent these commissions levied by online stores - App Store, but also Google Play for Android or Steam for games on computer.

A price to pay that seems exorbitant to the boss of Epic Games. He who began his career in 1991 by sending his first video game on floppy disk to his customers ... by post.

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