Epic Games will bring Fortnite – and probably other titles – back to the iPhone. The company announced this on Thursday evening on X. The American gaming giant is thus reacting to the changes in the possibilities under iOS that the Digital Markets Act (DMA) is forcing in the European Union. This includes allowing third-party app stores to be used on the iPhone for the first time.
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Epic Games Store is coming in 2024
“Fortnite will return to iOS in Europe in 2024, distributed through the upcoming @EpicGames Store for iOS,” so epic. The company has not yet given an exact date. Details should be announced soon, but they are currently in the process of figuring out “the regulatory timeline.” At the same time, both will take legal action against Apple “that breaks the law” in court and with the regulatory authorities.
A similar tone struck also Epic CEO Tim Sweeney at. In parallel with his company, he commented on Apple’s implementation of the DMA rules on X. These are ultimately a new attempt at “malicious compliance”. The accusation: Apple superficially adheres to the rules, but implements them in such a way that they are unattractive for developers. “They force developers to choose between the exclusivity of the App Store […] and a new, also illegal and anti-competitive system.” Apple is planning new “junk fees” on downloads and new “taxes”.
Sweeney: New “Apple taxes”
Sweeney went on to say that Epic Games supports Apple’s approach of notarizing apps with simultaneous malware scanning, but what Apple is now doing is reversing that process to “undermine competition and continue to impose Apple taxes on transactions involving Apple “is not involved.” The iPhone manufacturer is planning a so-called “Core Technology Fee”, which applies to one million installations and amounts to 50 US cents per installation. That could really expensive for successful developers of free apps become.
In his X-posting, Sweeney also advertised the Epic Games Store, which will soon be available on iOS. At the start, they want to become “the largest multi-platform software store” and want to sell exclusive games like Fortnite and allow other developers to charge “fees between 0 and 12 percent”. Apple takes 15 percent up to $1 million in annual sales, then 30 percent thereafter. With the new app store system in the EU, this tariff drops to 20 or 13 percent, but the core technology fee is added.
(bsc)