Apple goes to war with Epic Games in the EU

Apple stopped Epic Games from opening its own app store for iPhones in Europe. Epic Games, known for Fortnite, says Apple did this because Epic criticized Apple and broke the new antitrust rules in the region.

Apple cancelled Epic’s account that they use to make and develop things. This means Epic can’t bring Fortnite and the Epic Games Store to iPhones in Europe. Epic Games thinks this is a big problem and goes against the new rules in the EU that are supposed to make competition better in the industry.

Earlier in the week, Apple updated the iPhone to support third-party marketplaces in the EU and enabled side loading, allowing users to download apps outside of the official App Store. These adjustments were made to align with the DMA requirements, set to take effect on Thursday.

Apple had previously banned Epic’s developer account in the United States and elsewhere in 2020 after Epic bypassed Apple’s payment system to sell in-app upgrades. This sparked a legal battle between the two companies, with Apple emerging mostly victorious but being compelled by a judge to facilitate developers in directing customers to external payment methods for in-app purchases.

Despite Apple’s initial move to reconcile with Epic by granting its Sweden division a developer account in the EU earlier this year, this account has now been terminated, with Epic attributing the action to criticism of Apple by Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney.

Epic contends that Apple’s termination of its developer account is an attempt to eliminate a significant potential competitor to the Apple App Store. The gaming company accuses Apple of undermining fair competition and discouraging developers from challenging Apple’s business practices.

Epic had previously criticized Apple’s approach to complying with the new DMA law, particularly denouncing new fees imposed on developers. Apple, in response, asserted its right to terminate Epic entities from its platform, citing past contractual breaches by the game maker.

As the new rules come into effect, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager expressed the bloc’s intention to scrutinize app stores, particularly focusing on ensuring fair access for smaller app stores to operating systems dominated by market giants like Apple, Google, and Microsoft. The clash between Epic Games and Apple underscores the ongoing tensions within the tech industry regarding antitrust issues and market dominance.