Apple Claims Epic Wanted A ‘Special Deal’ For Fortnite

Apple and Epic are currently engaged in a ferocious legal battle that could change the way the App Store works in a rather drastic way. Epic’s position is that they’re fighting for the rights of other developers to create apps without Apple taking such a massive cut from in-app purchases, but Apple is arguing otherwise.

The company claims that prior to this, Epic had actually approached the company asking for “special treatment”. According to Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller, “On June 30, 2020, Epic’s CEO Tim Sweeney wrote my colleagues and me an email asking for a ‘side letter’ from Apple that would create a special deal for only Epic that would fundamentally change the way in which Epic offers apps on Apple’s iOS platform.”

However, Epic’s CEO Tim Sweeney begs to differ. In a tweet (see below), Sweeney published the email that he sent to Apple’s executives in which while he did ask for Apple to allow Epic’s store to be made available on iOS, which would essentially be like special treatment since no other similar storefronts have been made available, he also noted that he hoped that Apple would also make this option “equally available” to all iOS developers. This seems to counter what Apple’s Phil Schiller had previously said.

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Apple's statement is misleading. You can read my email in Apple's filing, which is publicly available. I specifically said in Epic's request to the Apple execs, "We hope that Apple will also make these options equally available to all iOS developers…" https://t.co/yRio08fPSy pic.twitter.com/HsqjApFQeo

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) August 21, 2020

This is an interesting legal battle as some argue that Epic should just simply follow the rules if they want to use Apple’s App Store, while others are in agreement that taking a 30% cut is simply too much.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones, Gaming
Tags: Apps, epic, fortnite battle royale, iOS, Legal, Social Hit