The last few days were quite intense for Apple and Epic Games after the popular game Fortnite was removed from the App Store for bypassing Apple’s In-App Purchase system. While Epic Games is now suing Apple, a new report from The Information reveals that the gaming company is trying to team up with other companies against Apple and App Store policies.
The report heard from sources that Epic Games reached out to executives from other tech companies that disagree with the strict rules of Apple’s App Store, such as the 30% commission taken from each sale. One of these companies is Spotify, which has been criticizing Apple’s business regarding the App Store.
While claiming it has no coalition with Epic Games, a Spotify spokesperson said last week that the company supports Epic’s decision to fight against “Apple’s unfair practices.” Spotify claims that the App Store business model with arbitrary rules disadvantages competitors and hurts consumers.
An executive from a gaming company, who didn’t want to be identified, mentioned that he supports the pressure against Apple to reduce App Store commissions. The executive was contacted by Epic Games to join the group against Apple, but he declined the invitation fearing that the group might also violate antitrust laws.
According to The Information, Facebook decided to launch its new service that hosts paid livestreamed events earlier than expected after the dispute between Epic Games and Apple. Facebook also criticized Apple for the 30% commission on App Store sales, as the company tried to negotiate in order to avoid this fee by claiming that Apple’s commission is hurting small businesses during the pandemic.
Several big tech companies also have concerns about Apple’s App Store policies, but may be reluctant to join any formal group because they are facing their own antitrust probes. Still, Epic’s campaign has already spurred some of them to step up their criticism of Apple’s practices.
We’re yet to find out the result of this battle between Apple, Epic Games, and other developers, but it’s worth remembering that Apple is now facing multiple antitrust probes due to the App Store monopoly. Meanwhile, Epic is on the edge of having its developer accounts terminated.
