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Epic Games Sues Apple and Google over App Store, Play Store Removes Fortnite
Butcher79
Epic Games has filed another lawsuit, this time against Google after removing Fortnite from the Google Play app store.
On August 13, Google decided to remove Fortnite from the Google Play app store. Just hours later, Epic filed a secondary lawsuit after the original lawsuit against Apple earlier in the day. This is the original story.
Epic Games has announced that it is suing Apple over its decision to remove Fortnite from the App Store. This came after the developers added the ability to pay directly for V-Bucks, which violated the tech giant's policy.
In the early hours of August 13, Epic surprised players by giving them direct payment in Fortnite on iOS and Android devices. Gaming industry experts have speculated that the move may be in violation of Apple policy.
Shortly thereafter, the tech company responded by removing the popular battle royale from its App Store. The company then issued a lengthy statement condemning the game's publisher for violating the rules set by their store.
Apple removes Fortnite from the App Store
Epic has introduced the "direct payment" option on iOS and Android devices. The move was praised by some as it made V-Bucks cheaper for players by bypassing Apple's 30% fee.
However, shortly after that, reports began to come in that Fortnite was no longer showing on the App Store, before Apple confirmed that they had taken steps to remove the battle royale.
In a statement for publication The Verge the tech giant explained its decision by saying that the decision actually violated their rules.
“Today, Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store policies, which apply equally to all developers and are designed to keep the store safe for our users. As a result, their Fortnite app has been removed from the store. Epic has enabled a feature in their app that has not been reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store's in-app payments policies, which apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services.
Epic has had apps on the App Store for a decade now, and the App Store ecosystem brings value, including the tools, testing, and distribution that Apple makes available to all developers. Epic has freely agreed to the App Store terms and guidelines, and we're delighted that they've built such a successful App Store business. The fact that their business interests now lead them to push for a special agreement doesn't change the fact that these guidelines create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users. We will make every effort to work with Epic to address these violations so they can bring Fortnite back to the App Store."
Epic Games sued Apple
After that, Epic announced that it had decided to sue Apple for removing the game from the App Store.
"Epic Games has filed legal paperwork in response to Apple," wrote the official Fortnite account with link to legal document .
Anti-Apple event in Fortnite
It looks like the company expected Apple to take action as they launched an in-game event called #FreeFortnite in response to the removal.
Along with the hashtag, they also showed a video declaring, “Epic Games has challenged the App Store monopoly. In response, Apple is blocking Fortnite for a billion devices. Join the fight so 2020 doesn't become '1984'."
1984 is a reference to George Orwell's book, which details the fictional story of a dystopian world in which people have no freedom under the watchful eye of Big Brother.
(1/2) Here are the two Trailers Back-to-Back for those being caught up on the #freefortnite movement starting today. pic.twitter.com/uqlSHX4yGU
— Squatingdog (@thesquatingdog) August 13
Epic Games sued Google
Shortly after all this news involving Apple, Google also removed Fortnite for Android from its own Play Store. Just hours later, Epic filed its second major lawsuit of the day, targeting Google for removing the mobile app.
It appears that, just like with the iOS version of the app, Epic has secretly implemented a way to allow users to pay for in-app microtransactions directly rather than through mobile platforms that typically increase certain costs to generate revenue.
What is happening now?
According to various users, those who already have battle royale installed on their iPhones and Android devices can still play and purchase items - the game has just been removed from the App Store and Google Play.
This is reminiscent of the PS4 demo of PT in 2014, after Konami pulled it from the store following the cancellation of Silent Hills. Players who still have the game teaser installed can still access it to this day, although it is no longer available.
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