Thanks to new regulations, Epic Games wanted to bring its own store alongside Fortnite on iOS devices, but now there is another beef between Epic and Apple that could stand in the way.
Epic Games and Apple will certainly no longer be a love story since the Fortnite makers' numerous lawsuits against the iOS giant. But new EU regulations from the Digital Markets Act seemed to settle the issue. Said regulation allows other operators to operate their own stores on iOS systems, something that was previously prevented by Apple for years.
The plan was in place and Epic had already announced that it would bring the Epic Games Store along with Fortnite to iOS. But now there is another dispute because Apple has once again blocked Epic Games' developer account, which in turn is preventing Epic from developing the Epic Games Store for iOS.
The reason is apparently, among other things, the reaction of Epic boss Tim Sweeney to Apple's announcements about the implementation of the new regulations, for example in a very critically worded tweet in January. Sweeney insisted on publishing an email from Apple's Phil Schiller on the subject, which will probably fuel the dispute even further.
“You have called our DMA compliance plan 'hot garbage,' a 'horror show,' and a 'sneaky new form of malicious compliance,'” the email said. “And you've complained about what you call 'junk fees' and 'Apple taxes.' This colorful criticism of our DMA compliance plan and Epic's past practice of intentionally violating contractual terms with which it disagrees, strongly suggest that Epic Sweden has no intention of following the rules.”
Schiller further writes to Sweeney: “You have stated that the inclusion of Epic Games Sweden in the developer program is a 'good faith step by Apple'. We request that you assure us in writing that you are also acting in good faith and that Epic Games Sweden will honor all of its commitments despite your public actions and rhetoric. Please tell us in clear, unqualified terms why we should trust Epic this time.”
So a new round in the Epic Apple beef and we can't wait to see how it turns out this time.
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