After bypassing Apple’s 30% app fee, Fortnite is no longer available on the App Store. In retaliation, Epic Games mocks Apple by releasing a well-made video that mimics the company’s fight against IBM 36 years ago, unsurprisingly, for the same reason — stifling upstart developers with power position. Apple, in an official statement, explained that Fornite violated its policies promoting fairness to developers and safety to users. In the same way, Google also banned Fortnite from the Play Store. The search giant’s response is no different from Apple, however.
The root cause of the left and right bans from the two largest app marketplaces is Epic Games’ in-app payment system that bypasses the 30% cut the two hosts would receive. Instead of going through App Store and Play Store’s in-app systems, Fornite went with its own. As a result, this made the cosmetics and other purchasable items easier to purchase due to lower prices. Since Apple and Google are already making tons of money from their hardware and software services, Fornite must’ve thought that they can offer cheaper items to customers without affecting its revenue through its scheme.
Despite Fornite’s banning, you can still download the game from the official website of Epic Games. As for those who have Fornite installed on their devices, the developer ensured that you can still play the game normally. From its website, they clarified that Fornite, up until the release of Chapter 2 – Season 4, will continue to function normally. Following that, however, future content or Battle Pass won’t be accessible anymore.
At the moment, Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney is showing no signs of reaching an agreement with the two companies, especially Apple, after its video release. Though App Store is willing to accept Fornite again on its platform, the game needs to abandon its payment scheme, even mentioning that it’s not going to arrange a special agreement. Sweeney, though, has a reason to be unreceptive as Apple struck a deal with Amazon that exempts them from the 30% fee when selling TW shows and movie rentals through Prime Video app.
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