The Epic Games dispute over access to the popular Fortnite video game with Apple raised after a complaint was made to a UK antitrust tribunal.
The company says Apple’s decision to remove the game from the iPhone maker’s App Store is illegal. The move comes after the game’s maker provided in-app purchases without using Apple’s digital payment service. The complaint, alongside a similar one against Alphabet Inc.’s Google, was made public by the Competition Appeal Tribunal Thursday.
This is the first step in Epic’s quest to restore Fortnite to the UK App Store. The company has made three allegations against Apple over its control over the application payment processing market on iOS.
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- Automatically reserves a single channel for users of iPhones and iPods, as well as a payment processing system for purchasing content within the app and/or distributing apps.
- Using its dominant position to distribute apps through the App Store and/or charge an unreasonable price for Apple IAP usage.
- The price of buying content in the app on Fortnite is a response to the legendary display of competition.
It all started with Epic Fortnite’s update to avoid Apple’s payment processor, allowing the game to process in-game purchases and effectively reduce tech giants. Apple, said it was against their terms of service, immediately removed Fortnite from its stores.
However, this is not usually the case, the problem is that Apple currently runs the only store available on iOS devices. According to a harsh description of events, the American company maintains a monopoly over the entire iOS market.
Apple has abused its “dominant position,” Epic said, according to the filing. “This is an important argument to make on behalf of consumers and developers in the U.K. and around the world who are impacted by Apple and Google’s misuse of market power,” Epic said in a follow-up statement. “Epic is not seeking damages from Apple or Google in the U.K., Australia, or the U.S., it is simply seeking fair access and competition that will benefit all consumers.” Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment.
This is the company’s latest move to get Apple to replace the Battle Royale video game in the British App Store. Epic offered a payment system that bypassed the App Store, meaning Apple did not receive a cut.
(Via)
