Apple reinstates Epic Games’ developer account following EU intervention

EU acts quickly to enforce their DMA law following foul play from Apple

On March 6th, Apple terminated Epic Games’ developer account. This act was designed to prevent Epic Games from releasing their Epic Games Store on iOS, an app that would directly compete with Apple’s own App Store in Europe.

Thanks to the European Union’s new DMA (Digital Markets Act) laws, Apple must allow 3rd party applications and storefronts to run on their iOS platform. This should allow iOS to become a competitive platform for app makers in Europe.

Why did Apple terminate Epic Games’ developer account? The simple answer is that Epic Games’ CEO, Tim Sweeney, Tweeted some mean things about Apple. Apple then labelled Epic Games as “untrustworthy”, and terminated their developer account. This, conveniently, took down what could be Apple’s largest app store competitor in Europe.

The European Commission quickly opened an enquiry into the matter. This signalled that the EU would act swiftly to enforce their Digital Markets Act. This has forced Apple to reverse their decision to terminate Epic Games’ developer account. Simply put, Apple could not justify the termination of Epic’s account to the EU.

Apple has told us and committed to the European Commission that they will reinstate our developer account. This sends a strong signal to developers that the European Commission will act swiftly to enforce the Digital Markets Act and hold gatekeepers accountable. We are moving forward as planned to launch the Epic Games Store and bring Fortnite back to iOS in Europe. Onward!

Epic Games’ Fortnite may soon return to Apple iOS devices

Epic Games plans to launch their Epic Games Store on iOS. By using their own storefront, Epic will be able to bring Fortnite to iOS without having to pay huge fees to Apple. While Epic will lose the visibility and ease of install that the Apple App Store offers, Epic are betting that Fortnite will be a large enough app to bring gamers to their non-Apple app store.

With their Epic Games Store, Epic aims to bring other game developers to their app store by offering them a fairer fee structure. This will allow developers to more easily turn a profit on iOS. That said, Epic Games needs to build a strong iOS userbase if they want their storefront to be a success.

Apple wants to maintain their app store monopoly on iOS. That means that they want the Epic Games Store to fail on their platform. Expect Apple to market their App Store as the only “safe” place to buy apps, and to use other underhanded tactics to keep gamers away from competing storefronts. Apple makes billions on its App Store. Don’t expect them to give any of that up without a fight.

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