The ongoing legal battle between Epic Games and Apple is not over yet.
Following the ruling that Apple must allow App Store developers to direct users to alternative payment methods, the tech giant has denied Epic’s request to reactivate its developer account.
In a series of recent tweets, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic, revealed court documents describing that Apple has denied Epic’s request. Apple’s legal team says it will not allow Fortnite on the App Store until the ruling is final and Epic has exhausted all of its appeals.
Late last night, Apple informed Epic that Fortnite will be blacklisted from the Apple ecosystem until all court appeals are exhausted, which could be a process of up to 5 years. pic.twitter.com/QCD7wogJef
– Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) September 22, 2021
Although it is not yet clear, the appeals process can take up to five years, according to Sweeney.
The CEO of Epic goes on to say that “last week, Epic agreed with Apple that we would play by the same rules as everyone else.” Sweeney claims that Apple is not allowing the popular Battle Royale title to return to the App Store because the company “won” the court battle, statements Epic has made in recent weeks, and because the game’s developer / publisher launched its payment system. direct. in 2020.
Apple lied. Apple spent a year telling the world, the court and the press that “they would appreciate Epic’s return to the App Store if they agree to follow the same rules as everyone else.” Epic agreed, and now Apple has reneged on yet another abuse of its monopoly power over a billion users.
– Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) September 22, 2021
It’s unclear when or if the game will return to the iOS App Store, but it’s clear that Epic feels Apple misled it regarding From Fortnite Go back to the App Store.
Sweeney says this is another “extraordinary anti-competitive move by Apple” that reveals its “power to reshape markets and pick winners and losers.”
Source: @TimSweeneyEpic