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Epic Battles. Apple’s latest (low) blow to Epic Games

2 months ago babelfish

Epic Battles. Apple's latest (low) blow to Epic Games

In the same hours in which, in compliance with the new EU rules on the free digital market, Apple should have opened the doors of its devices to Fortnite, Cupertino surprised everyone, even the Commission, by blocking Epic Games. Commissioner Thierry Breton is furious

It is truly a battle worthy of a novel, perhaps even a film (certainly in the near future we would like to relive it summarized in a good docu-film) that between Apple (which is already preparing an appeal for the huge fine that has just been imposed on it by EU on the music streaming front) and Epic Games. It certainly has more episodes and more twists and turns than a soap opera.

EPIC GAMES BLOCKED BY APPLE ON THE DAY OF iOS 17.4

The two software houses were engaged (and still are) in a very long legal battle in almost every market. And if in the USA the situation ended in a draw (Epic Games' requests were not considered well founded, but Apple will have to liberalize its store) the new community rules on competition in the digital market seemed to leave the way open to a return of Fortnite – Epic Games' flagship title – on Apple devices. Start Magazine had addressed the issue here .

Apparently, however, this will not be the case. Giving substance to the fear expressed by 34 software houses (including Epic itself) who on March 1st wrote to the EU Commission asking Brussels to ensure that Apple will not respect the new rules of the DMA (the legislative package on competition), Apple has closed the Epic Games developer account.

This coincides with the release of the iOS 17.4 version, in which Apple was finally forced by the EU legislator to allow the use of alternative marketplaces for apps on iPhone in the EU, in accordance with the law on digital markets.

Obviously, Epic Games is furious: “By closing Epic's developer account, Apple is eliminating one of the biggest potential competitors to the Apple App Store. It's undermining our ability to be a viable competitor and showing other developers what happens when you try to compete with Apple or criticize its unfair practices."

For Tim Sweeney 's software house "If Apple retains the power to kick a third-party marketplace from iOS at its sole discretion, no reasonable developer will be willing to use a third-party app store, because it could be permanently separated from its audience in any time".

THE ANGER OF THE EU

An appeal promptly accepted by the EU, which tries in every way to make Apple respect the new rules.

“With the DMA there is no room for threats from gatekeepers to silence developers,” Thierry Breton , the European commissioner for the internal market, immediately tweeted. “I have asked our services to look into Apple's termination of Epic's developer account as a priority.” Then he commented: “To all developers in Europe and around the world: now is the time to have your say on gatekeeper compliance solutions!”

WHAT APPLE SAYS

For its part, Apple through MacRumors motivated the decision as follows: “Epic's serious breach of its contractual obligations to Apple has led the courts to rule that Apple has the right to close 'any or all of Epic's wholly owned subsidiaries'. Epic Games, affiliates and/or other entities under the control of Epic Games at any time and in Apple's sole discretion. In light of Epic's past and ongoing behavior, Apple has chosen to exercise this right." The next episode of the soap opera will tell us how it will end.

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/primo-piano/battaglie-epiche-lultimo-colpo-basso-di-apple-a-epic-games/ on Sun, 10 Mar 2024 06:54:45 +0000.