San Francisco (AFP)

Epic Games, the publisher of the Fortnite video game, filed a lawsuit Thursday against Apple, which it accuses of abusing a dominant position on the App Store, the mobile application store of the iPhone maker.

Apple is behaving in an "anti-competitive" manner, according to the studio, which wants to question the 30% commission on transactions between consumers and applications, required to appear on the App Store.

The Californian group has just removed the globally successful game from its store, after Epic Games installed a payment method that allows players to save money by bypassing the App Store system.

“Today, Epic Games made the unfortunate decision to break the App Store rules, which apply to all developers and are designed to keep the store secure for our users,” Apple told the 'AFP.

"As a result, Fortnite has been removed from the store."

Apple is in the crosshairs of many regulators and app publishers who are contesting the company's hold on the App Store, a necessary step for downloading apps to its popular devices, from smartphones to tablets.

"Apple has become what he once cursed against. The monster who wants to control the markets, block competition and stifle innovation," details the complaint.

Fortnite fans using Apple brand devices will be able to continue playing, but they will no longer receive updates, which go through the App Store.

Apple has defended itself against similar attacks in the past by saying that commissions are used to protect apps and their users from hackers and scams. Its percentage may drop to 15% from the second year of a subscription.

The Silicon Valley giant said it was "happy" that Epic Games has "built such a success" on the App Store, but "the fact that their interests today lead them to request a special arrangement does not change the fact that these rules ensure an infrastructure that is fair for developers and secure for all users ".

Approximately 350 million people have played Fortnite since 2017, when this survival shooter became a star in esports competitions, released.

Epic Games has asked the court to force Apple to change its rules for all app developers.

"Apple imposes unreasonable and illegal restrictions to monopolize the two markets," says the complaint.

© 2020 AFP