Epic Games Lashes Out at Apple Over App Store Rejection

Fortnite-maker Epic Games has publically lashed retired astatine Apple connected Friday, aft its latest connection for a rival iOS App Store was rejected by the smartphone-maker. The institution said on X that this rejection was triggered aft Apple argued the plan of Epic’s app store excessively intimately resembled its own.

This determination follows Epic’s effort to submit an iOS mentation of the Epic Games Store past week, a determination that would marque it imaginable for iPhone and iPad users to download games onto their instrumentality without visiting Apple’s App Store.

“Apple's rejection is arbitrary, obstructive, and successful usurpation of the DMA [Digital Markets Act],” Epic said connected Friday, successful a connection released connected X, adding the institution had already shared its concerns with the European Commission. Apple has rejected Epic’s Game Store notarization submission—a process wherever apps are submitted to the institution for review—twice successful the past week, Epic spokesperson Elka Looks told WIRED.

The lawsuit is portion of a wider conflict implicit who gets to power the apps disposable to hundreds of millions of people. In a stroke to the US-giant, Apple has been compelled by the Digital Markets Act, caller EU rules, to let alternatives to its ain marque App store connected European iPhones and iPads since March.

“Apple has rejected our Epic Games Store notarization submission doubly now, claiming the plan and presumption of Epic’s “Install” fastener is excessively akin to Apple's "Get" fastener and that our "In-app purchases" statement is excessively akin to the App Store's "In-App Purchases" label,” the institution said.

Epic explained its naming conventions echoed Apple’s due to the fact that it was “trying to physique a store that mobile users tin easy understand.” Apple did not reply to WIRED’s petition for comment.

There are much than 100 million radical who usage Apple’s App Store successful the EU and the motorboat of the Epic Games Store would, for the archetypal time, springiness those users a prime of wherever they privation to download apps.

That infinitesimal is eagerly awaited by lawmakers who reason that the tech giants are repressing contention by blocking rivals’ entree to their users. “The motorboat of an alternate app store wrong the Apple strategy would make a immense proof, that the DMA tin stimulate contention and thereby bring down prices for consumers,” Andreas Schwab, a subordinate of the European Parliament who helped negociate the DMA, told WIRED.

Epic and Apple are long-time rivals. In 2020, Epic filed a lawsuit against Apple successful California, arguing the company’s grip implicit the iOS marketplace is “unreasonable and unlawful.” Apple came retired of the US lawsuit (mostly) victorious. But successful Europe, Epic has go portion of a vocal assemblage of developers who are seething astir the powerfulness they comprehend Apple’s App Store to wield implicit their businesses and the committee the institution charges connected in-app purchases.

“Apple holds app providers ransom similar the Mafia,” Matthias Pfau, CEO and cofounder of Tuta, an encrypted email provider, told WIRED earlier this year. Epic’s alternate app store connection is simply a trial lawsuit for the anticipation of different alternate app stores that could reshape the narration betwixt Apple and developers.

The Epic Games Store is already disposable connected PC, Mac and Android, though not connected Google Play. Now, the institution plans to proceed seeking support for its iOS version, it said. “Barring further roadblocks from Apple, we stay acceptable to motorboat successful the Epic Games Store…on iOS successful the EU successful the adjacent mates of months.”