Apple Inc. removed the popular video game "Fortnite" from its App Store on Aug 13. On the same day, Google Play also removed the game from its store for Android users. Since then, Epic Games Inc., the creator of the game, filed a lawsuit against Apple.
On Monday, Epic Games announced that Apple is removing Epic from its stores on iOS products.
"On August 28, Apple will terminate all our developer accounts and cut Epic off from iOS and Mac development tools," Epic said in a statement.
They added that they are, "asking the court to stop this retaliation."
Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and has informed Epic that on Friday, August 28 Apple will terminate all our developer accounts and cut Epic off from iOS and Mac development tools. We are asking the court to stop this retaliation. Details here: https://t.co/3br1EHmyd8
— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) August 17, 2020
Apple requires applications with in-app payments to be billed directly through their company, which takes 30 percent of the revenue. However, Epic Games informed customers that the company would be offering a direct purchase plan for items on the popular battle royale video game that boasts a community of nearly 350 million people worldwide.
Fortnite is one of the most popular brands in the video game community has a massive eSports following. In 2019, the game generated $1.8 billion in revenue, according to analysis firm SuperData.
"Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines," Apple said in a statement. "We will make every effort to work with Epic to resolve these violations so they can return Fortnite to the App Store."
Epic Games has contended in the past that Apple and Google charge extra fees in their respective app stores. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney accused the two entities of being a duopoly in a Bloomberg interview in July.
"You can't have a tech monopoly dominating all, all interactions between consumers and businesses on a scale of billions of users," Sweeney told Bloomberg. "It just creates the same sorts of a concentration of power problems. It's the railroads, right?"
