Epic Games has provided a new argument as to why the court should force Apple to bring Fortnite back to the App Store following its removal in August.
Taking to Twitter (below), the American games giant revealed it had “asked the Court to stop Apple’s retaliation against Epic for daring to challenge its unlawful restrictions while our antitrust case proceeds.”
Last month, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers granted Epic temporary protection for its Unreal Engine. However, she did not extend the protection to its games, as she believes the predicament to be of Epic’s “own making.” Since then, the Fortnite creator has requested that decision be overturned, citing the damage that has been done not only to itself but to third parties as well as a primary reason.
Today we asked the Court to stop Apple’s retaliation against Epic for daring to challenge its unlawful restrictions while our antitrust case proceeds. This is a necessary step to free consumers and developers from Apple’s costly, anti-competitive control. https://t.co/r2XxhitjMp
— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) September 5, 2020
Operating a monopoly
Furthermore, Epic has insisted that Apple is running a monopoly, hence the reasoning for creating a new payment option for Fortnite players, preventing the tech giant from taking its 30 per cent commission.
“Apple is a monopolist. It controls all app distribution on iOS. It controls all in-app payment processing for digital content on iOS,” said Epic in its court document.
“It unlawfully maintains these two monopolies by explicitly prohibiting any competitive entry in either market. It is highly likely to lose this case. On this motion, however, all Epic seeks is for the court to stop Apple from retaliating against Epic for daring to challenge Apple’s misconduct.”
Irreparable damage
Epic Games may be a huge company, a powerhouse within the industry, but it is not immune to the backlash seen by Apple’s retaliation. Since the tech behemoth removed not only Fortnite but Epic’s developer account, the firm has seen a drop of 60 per cent in iOS user activity.
Moreover, Epic has claimed that not only has its reputation suffered “irreparable damage,” but it may not see those defected players again, which will cause lasting damage.
