Fortnite, all the reasons for the war of Apple and Google against Epic Games
Epic Games bypasses, with Fortnite, the payment systems of Apple and Google, which respond by excluding the game app from digital stores. All the details
Fortnite vs Apple and vs Google.
Make yourself comfortable, grab popcorn and sodas. An epic battle is about to be fought on the screens: Fortnite was thrown out of the Apple and Google stores because its parent company, Epic Games, introduced an update that allowed users to pay for in-app purchases directly to Epic instead to use the officially approved system for both platforms.
The upgrade represents the beginning of a war on a business model. Who will win? Let's go step by step.
WHAT FORTNITE HAS DONE
Let's start with what Epic Games did. Fortnite has introduced its own payment system for purchases , with real money, of V-Buck (to play) which bypasses the payment method imposed by Apple and Google and therefore the percentages withheld by the official digital stores.
HOW IN-APP PURCHASES WORK
To understand what we are saying it is necessary to take a step back. When an application, even free, offers the possibility of making "in-app" purchases (within the app), to work it is necessary to use the payment systems of Google and Apple, which withhold percentages on the purchase that reach up to to 30 percent.
There are exceptions. Thousands of apps on the App Store can accept direct payments from Apple, including Amazon, Grubhub, Nike SNKRS, Best Buy, DoorDash, Fandango, McDonalds, and StubHub (game app exceptions are not included).
A SAVINGS FOR USERS
Epic Games has also thought about introducing a direct payment system. Fortnite, on Thursday 13 August, therefore announced the introduction of its own in-app payments service and promised discounts of 20% on the prices applied to date.
THE (IMMEDIATE) ANSWERS FROM APPLE AND GOOGLE
What has been done is an act of war against Apple and Google, which in response have thrown the Fortnite app out of the stores. Epic Games is accused of having violated the terms of the contracts signed with the two giants.
STOP THE GAME?
The exclusion, for users, could mean the stop of the game. It cannot be downloaded or updated, with the consequence that some will no longer be able to use it.
THE LEGAL BATTLE
However, the battle will also be played in court. Epic games, in fact, has filed a lawsuit against Google and Apple, accusing them of violating antitrust rules. In the documents, filed with a Californian court, the game developer claims that the restrictions on payments imposed by Google and Apple constitute a monopoly. Same accusations for Apple,
EPIC TRIES TO CHANGE A BUSINESS MODEL (CONSOLIDATED)
That of Epic Games is a move to try to dismantle a business model that does not suit users: "Epic believes that all mobile users have the right to save money by using more efficient purchase options", reads the company's website . The rules of Apple and Google "are designed to cement their monopoly, to limit consumer choice and to specifically stifle competition in digital goods."
“Mobile devices – adds Epic Games – are essential IT devices on which we lead our social and professional life and we dedicate ourselves to commerce and entertainment. Apple cannot rightly control the terms of physical and digital commerce and use its monopoly power over devices to prevent competition in payment processing, retail and app management. ”
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/fortnite-tutti-i-perche-della-guerra-di-apple-e-google-contro-epic-games/ on Fri, 14 Aug 2020 06:14:15 +0000.