Apple Just Terminated Epic's App Store Dev Account But The War Has Just Begun
If Apple went nuclear several days back, they have now gone thermonuclear by terminating a developer account owned by Epic Games. Apple claims it is not included in the legal ruling amid the court battle, but this just kicks things up a notch.
Earlier in August, Apple gave Fortnite the boot when Epic Games implemented a way of paying for Fortnite items without going through the Apple payment ecosystem. When it originally happened, Apple said that “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 regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services.”
The dispute of Apple v. Epic Games then became a legal dispute, entering the court system with each side raising a stink about the other. In an emergency move, Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple to prevent Apple from tearing down Fortnite and the Unreal Engine which powers many apps. When they had their day in court, the judge ruled that Fortnite would not be reinstated, but the Unreal Engine, and assets surrounding it, would be spared. The ruling from Judge Yvonne Rogers is as follows:
"Apple, are temporarily restrained from taking adverse action against Epic Games with respect to restricting, suspending, or terminating any affiliate of Epic Games, such as Epic International, from Apple's Developer Program, including as to Unreal Engine, on the basis that Epic Games enabled in-app payment processing in Fortnite through means other than IAP or on the basis of the steps Epic took to do so."
No matter how you interpret that (as vague as it seems), Apple has now terminated an Epic Games developer account. In a statement to press, Apple confirmed the termination:
“We are disappointed that we have had to terminate the Epic Games account on the App Store. We have worked with the team at Epic Games for many years on their launches and releases. The court recommended that Epic comply with the App Store guidelines while their case moves forward, guidelines they’ve followed for the past decade until they created this situation. Epic has refused. Instead they repeatedly submit Fortnite updates designed to violate the guidelines of the App Store. This is not fair to all other developers on the App Store and is putting customers in the middle of their fight. We hope that we can work together again in the future, but unfortunately that is not possible today.”Apple's statement reaffirms that this entire matter was brought upon Epic Games by themselves and that they were pushing updates and issues while this was going on. In a tweet to 9to5Mac, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic, claims that what Apple is saying is not all that truthful.
At the end of the day, it is up to the people to decide who is morally in the right and the courts will decide who is legally right. Now, this debacle begs the question, did Apple overstep any legal bounds with this developer account ban? Let us know what you think of the Apple v. Epic ordeal in the comments below and stick around for updates, as this battle is only just getting started.Apple's statement isn't forthright. They chose to terminate Epic's account; they didn't *have* to.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) August 28, 2020
Apple suggests we spammed the App Store review process. That's not so. Epic submitted three Fortnite builds: two bug-fix updates, and the Season 4 update with this note. pic.twitter.com/VpWEERDp5L
