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06.03.2024 21:25, Vladimir Chizhevsky
Epic Games’ plans to launch its own third-party iOS app store in the EU are in jeopardy after Apple suspended the company’s developer account. On his blog Epic shared a letter received from Apple’s lawyers, in which the gaming company is called “unreliable.”
«Please note that Apple is no longer participating in Epic Games Sweden AB in the Apple Developer Program effective immediately.“, the letter, dated March 2, said, citing Apple’s right to terminate the license agreement unilaterally at its own discretion.
After Apple announced plans to allow third-party app stores for iOS in Europe, Epic Games announced plans to launch its own game store on iOS and relaunch Fortnite on the platform after its removal in 2020. On February 16, Epic announced that Apple had unblocked its Epic Games Sweden developer account. Let us remind you that it was blocked along with the removal of Fortnite from the App Store.
On February 23, App Store CEO Phil Schiller, in an email to Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, demanded “written assurances” that Epic Games “will fulfill its obligations” and recalled that in 2020 she had already violated the license agreement by adding support for third-party payments in Fortnite on iOS. In turn, the head of Epic Games Tim Sweeney said that “Epic and its subsidiaries act in good faith and will comply with all current and future agreements with Apple, and will provide all necessary warranties regarding any issues.».
Then, on March 2, Apple’s lawyers sent a letter to Epic informing them that the Epic Games developer account had been closed: “Epic has violated the terms of the Apple Developer Program as well as its EULA in the past. Given the above, Apple has reached out to Mr. Sweeney directly for clarification on why we should trust Epic Games Sweden AB to participate in the development program. Mr. Sweeney’s response is not considered sufficient or credible».
Apple’s letter also cites Sweeney’s Feb. 26 message and “recent statement in Australian litigation” and also states that Apple is concerned that Epic Games Sweden “does not intend to honor its contractual obligations to Apple and is in fact a means of manipulating proceedings in other jurisdictions” At a press briefing, Sweeney said Epic had not received any communications from Apple between Schiller’s email and the letter from Apple’s lawyers, and said he would be willing to provide “any guarantees they wish» to comply with the contractual agreement. When asked if Epic plans to comply with Apple’s developer terms despite public criticism of its policies, Sweeney replied: “Yes, absolutely».
In a blog post, Epic accused Apple of “eliminated one of the largest potential competitors to the Apple App Store», «undermines [ее] ability to be a viable competitor” and “Shows other developers what happens when you try to compete with Apple or criticize its unfair practices” The company emphasized that “will continue to fight for fair competition on iOS devices in Europe and around the world».
While Apple’s termination of the developer account affects Epic’s plans to launch its own app store on iOS, Epic’s CEO suggested in the briefing that Epic could still bring Fortnite back to iOS through another company’s third-party app store in the European Union.
