The comments made by Epic Games Director of Public Policy, Leo Rees, follows Apple blocking the parent company of Fortnite, from launching a rival app store on iOS devices in Europe.

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He said: “Consumers should be able to download apps from where they want, just like on every other computing device.”

In a blog post, Epic Games shared several exchanges with Apple in which it outlined plans for its developer account, which included creating an Epic Games Store iOS app and a Fortnite native app for distribution via that store.

It said: “In terminating Epic’s developer account, Apple is taking out one of the largest potential competitors to the Apple App Store. They are undermining our ability to be a viable competitor and they are showing other developers what happens when you try to compete with Apple or are critical of their unfair practices.

“If Apple maintains its power to kick a third party marketplace off iOS at its sole discretion, no reasonable developer would be willing to utilise a third party app store, because they could be permanently separated from their audience at any time.”

However, according to the technology giant, one of the reasons they terminated Epic’s developer account within a few weeks of approval was because its CEO, Tim Sweeney publicly criticised its proposed DMA compliance plan, in an X (formerly Twitter) post.

Apple leadership faces some massive decisions in the coming weeks as the contradictions between their stated principles and the intended and actual consequences of their present policies are reckoned with: the app store monopoly, the digital goods payments monopoly, the tax, the… pic.twitter.com/mUxV5ypwcd

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) February 26, 2024

Epic Games added: “Apple also claims that Epic is a threat to their ecosystem, but this is an entirely unjustified excuse to terminate one of our accounts.”

Meanwhile, Apple responded, claiming Epic’s “egregious breach of its contractual obligations to Apple led courts to determine that Apple has the right to terminate ‘any or all of Epic Games’ wholly owned subsidiaries, affiliates, and/or other entities under Epic Games’ control at any time and at Apple’s sole discretion.’”

It added: “In light of Epic’s past and ongoing behaviour, Apple chose to exercise that right.”

This disagreement is the latest in nearly five years of issues between the two firms, which started in 2020 when a Fortnite update allowed gamers to purchase digital coins via a direct payment feature, going around Apple’s rule that iOS games use in-app purchases.

As a result, Epic sued the tech giant, with California’s Ninth Circuit Court ruling in favour of the game developer.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court declined to take up the case, in which both companies appealed the ruling, with Epic Games claiming there were “legal errors” and that Apple had violated federal antitrust laws.

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The tournament, taking place on Sunday 23 August, celebrates the final days that iOS users have to enjoy the game alongside everyone else and gives players the chance to win prizes which appear to mock Apple.

As of Thursday 27 August, players on iOS devices will be “left behind” in the previous season of the game, as everyone else proceeds onto Chapter 2 – Season 4. This is because of Apple’s decision to remove Fortnite from the App Store after Epic breached Apple’s policies by adding a direct payment system to the game, which, in turn, led to a lawsuit from Epic.

The #FreeFortnite Cup can be accessed via the ‘Compete’ tab once the event starts in the player’s region. Players will be able to win hardware prizes including an Alienware Gaming Laptop, Samsung Galaxy Tab S7, OnePlus 8, PlayStation 4 Pro, Xbox One X, and Nintendo Switch. They can also get their hands on an in-game Apple parody outfit and a real-life #FreeFortnite hat.

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The pair will aim to use the investment to ‘broaden their collaboration’ across Sony’s portfolio and Epic’s social entertainment platform to ‘create unique experiences for consumers and creators’.

“Epics powerful technology in areas such as graphics places them at the forefront of game engine development with Unreal Engine and other innovations Theres no better example of this than the revolutionary entertainment experience, Fortnite,” said Kenichiro Yoshida, Chairman, President, and CEO of Sony Corporation. “Through our investment, we will explore opportunities for further collaboration with Epic to delight and bring value to consumers and the industry at large, not only in games, but also across the rapidly evolving digital entertainment landscape,”

Sony’s investment virtually coincides with its failure to pique the interest of Leyou Technologies. The Japanese electronics giant lost out to Tencent on entering into exclusive talks with the Hong Kong-based gaming firm.

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Developers using the Unreal Engine will soon be able to use a Bidstack plugin to choose areas within their games where they could make native in-game advertising available. They can pick any appropriate surface including virtual outdoor billboards, sporting pitch-side hoardings, decal stickers on the sides of vehicles, and prints on character clothing. Developers can also retrofit ad opportunities into existing games.

Eventually, games using the Unreal Engine will see their ad inventory become automatically available to advertisers to buy programmatically through Bidstack’s network of demand side platforms.

“Our new arrangement with Epic’s Unreal Engine enables developers of all sizes, by adding Bidstack’s technology to their game, to open their ad inventory to global media buyers and potentially attract advertising revenue from the world’s leading brands,” said James Draper, Bidstack CEO.

“This collaboration with Epic also gives advertisers an expanded access point to the gaming community, making it even more attractive to advertisers seeking to reach gamers, at a time when revenues from video games are larger than music and video combined.”

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There are few details about the acquisition, with no price having been announced, but we know that Houseparty will continue to operate as normal for the time being. The pair describe the deal as one that will enable them to connect more people with their friends, family, and peers.

“Houseparty brings people together, creating positive social interactions in real time,” said Tim Sweeney, founder and CEO of Epic Games. “By teaming up, we can build even more fun, shared experiences than what could be achieved alone.”

Fortnite has become an international gaming phenomenon, amassing a user base of around 250m players. And it seems that’s where the link between Epic Games and Houseparty is present.

“For the three years, we’ve been on a mission to bring empathy to online communication through our synchronous social network. Houseparty has become the next best thing to hanging out in real life and we’re so proud of that,” said Houseparty’s co-founder and CEO, Sima Sistani, in a tweet. “We kept hearing that people were using Houseparty to talk to their real-life friends while gaming together and one game came up over and over again: Fortnite.”

Houseparty made its entry into gaming earlier this year when it added the popular Heads Up mobile game to its app. Since then, it has continued to add games for users to play with their friends in-app.

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According to mobile app store intelligence firm Sensor Tower, Fortnite has grossed over $180m on iOS devices since its launch as an invite-only beta in March that eventually expanded to all App Store customers. Alongside Fortnite’s iOS success, Apple has made more than $54m from the game – thanks to the 30 per cent cut it gets from all in-app spending that takes place via apps within its store.

Fortnite is predicted to see its launch revenue on Android to match, or even surpass, the amount it made in the first several months of its iOS arrival. But there are concerns that, by avoiding Google Play, Epic Games could be making it more difficult for people to download the game, particular on older Android versions. In addition, experts have pointed out that people who download the game could be open to more security risks and malware attacks.

There’s also a worry that unsuspecting Google Play users could be caught out by fake copycat apps taking advantage of them if they search for the game on the app store. To counteract the possibility of this, Google has – for the first time ever – placed a disclaimer on searches for the game stating that “Fortnite Battle Royal [sic] by Epic Games, Inc is not available on Google Play”.

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Epic Games

Fortnite launched on iOS in March, and since then has racked up massive revenues through in-app purchases, bringing in $25m (£19m) in its first month of availability, passing $50m on day 45 and earning over $100m during its first 90 days.

While a release date for an Android version of the game is yet to be confirmed, Epic Games has said that it will become available “this summer”. In order to access the app, users on Android will have to visit the games website and download a launcher program, which will then allow them to load the game onto their smartphone.

Fortnite is free-to-play, but users can purchase cosmetic items in-app using a virtual currency called V-Bucks. By avoiding the Play Store, Epic Games will be able to retain 100 per cent of in-app spending on Android. The studio is estimated to have already made $1bn through in-game purchases in Fortnite.

“On open platforms like PC, Mac and Android, Epics goal is to bring its games directly to customers,” said Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games in an email to TechCrunch. “We believe gamers will benefit from competition among software sources on Adnroid. Competition among services gives consumers lots of great choices and enables the best to succeed based on merit.”

There are also rumours that Fortnite may also be exclusive to Samsung devices when it first launches on Android. The date of the Android release is expected to be announced on 9 August, the same date as Samsungs Unpacked event in New York City.

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Despite being launched in invite-only form for the first two weeks, Fortnite has quickly become one of the most successful multiplayer mobile titles of all time, according to figures from Sensor Tower. The game has broken through multiple milestones, bringing in $25m during its first month and passing $50m by the day 45 mark.

Compared to Tencent’s Honor of Kings (known in Western markets as Arena of Valor), another online multiplayer title recently released on mobile, Fortnite has earned almost three times as much in global revenue. Supercell’s Crash Royale remains the figure to beat in multiplayer action games on mobile, having earned $154m during its first 90 days of release.

Fortnite largely earns its revenues from limited-time cosmetic items used in-game, as well as ‘Battle Passes’ that provide users with free items and other bonuses during one of the game’s ‘seasons’. The beginning of the game’s fourth season, which debuted at the beginning of May, saw revenues quadruple for the game as users were attracted and engagement skyrocketed.

“Even apart from Battle Pass sales, we see Fortnite growing its momentum on mobile, and there are no indications of it slowing there – or anywhere else – as it continues its reign as the world’s most popular game,” said Randy Nelson, head of mobile insights at Sensor Tower.

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