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By Andrew Wallenstein 10 hours. Apple officially booted Epic Games' 'Fortnite' off the App Store, with the tech giant suspending the games company's developer account. 'Fortnite' last week was kicked off the App Store — the only way to get apps onto the iPhone or iPad — after developer Epic Games rolled out a new payment system which allowed it to. In-app virtual currencies must only be used within the app or game title for which they were purchased. Fortnite is available on multiple platforms: PC, Mac, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch. The Action Building game where you team up with other players to build massive forts and battle against hordes of monsters, all while crafting and looting in giant worlds where no two games are ever the same.
Epic Games has defied the App Store Monopoly. In retaliation, Apple is blocking Fortnite from a billion devices.
Visit https://t.co/K3S07w5uEk and join the fight to stop 2020 from becoming '1984' https://t.co/tpsiCW4gqK
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) August 13, 2020
We keep an eye on all lawsuits alleging that the tech companies have too much control.
This one isn't likely to go anywhere big, but it is worth keeping an eye on nonetheless.
Reuters:
Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google on Thursday removed popular video game 'Fortnite' from their app stores for violating the in-app payment guidelines, prompting developer Epic Games to file federal antitrust lawsuits challenging their rules.
Apple and Google cited a direct payment feature rolled out on the Fortnite app earlier in the day as the violation.
Epic sued in U.S. court seeking no money from Apple or Google, but rather injunctions that would end many of the companies' practices related to their app stores.
'Apple has become what it once railed against: the behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition, and stifle innovation. Apple is bigger, more powerful, more entrenched, and more pernicious than the monopolists of yesteryear,' Epic said in its lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California.
Epic also attacked Apple on social media, launching a campaign with the hashtag #FreeFortnite, urging players to seek refunds from Apple if they lose access to the game, and creating a parody of Apple's famous '1984' television ad.
In the parody, which quickly garnered hundreds of thousands of views, a female Fortnite fighter hurls a unicorn-shaped club to smash a screen on which an Apple-headed character speaks of 'the anniversary of the platform unification directives.'
Apple takes a cut of between 15% and 30% for most app subscriptions and payments made inside apps, though there are some exceptions for companies that already have a credit card on file for iPhone customers if they also offer an in-app payment that would benefit Apple.
Analysts believe games are the biggest contributor to spending inside the App Store, which is in turn the largest component of Apple's $46.3 billion-per-year services segment.
In a statement, Apple said Fortnite was removed because Epic had launched the payment feature with the 'express intent of violating the App Store guidelines' after having had apps in the store for a decade.
'The fact that their (Epic) business interests now lead them to push for a special arrangement does not change the fact that these guidelines create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users,' Apple said.
Google also removed 'Fortnite' from its Play Store, but the company's spokesman Dan Jackson declined to comment on the lawsuit when contacted by Reuters.
'However, we welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions with Epic and bring Fortnite back to Google Play,' he said in a statement. Jackson said Epic violated a rule requiring developers to use Google's in-app billing system for products within video games.
What Epic is saying about the power of these companies is correct, but the way Epic makes money from Fortnite is also unethical. What it seems like here though is that Epic was only changing the way they collect the money, not somehow making their policies more unethical.
Whatever.
It is a way to stir up hatred against these companies, because people love their Fortnite.
Fortnite makers Epic Games has released a parody of Apple's famous 1984 commercial as it takes the tech giant to court..
Fortnite makers Epic Games has released a parody of Apple's famous 1984 commercial as it takes the tech giant to court.
Epic Games had a parody of one of Apple's most iconic ads ready to go before filing its last lawsuit against the company. Picture: Chris Delmas/AFPSource:AFP
Apple has announced it will cut the commission it charges to some developers on its App Store, as it faces another lawsuit from a company that tried to get around it.
Apple charges 30 per cent commission on in-app payments.
The company runs the App Store and decides what is on it.
It's also the only way to install an app on an iPhone or iPad.
The company has announced developers who earn less than $US1 million ($A1.37 million) a year (after Apple takes its cut) will instead be charged 15 per cent commission on in-app payments, beginning in 2021.
It comes as the company faces a lawsuit from a company who had its apps removed when it tried to add its own way for customers to pay that cut Apple out of the transaction.
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A Fortnite player logging in on their iPhone. Picture: Chris Delmas/AFPSource:AFP
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Fortnite maker Epic Games has filed another lawsuit against computing giant Apple, this time in Australia, but the creators of the viral video game phenomenon aren't asking for any money.
Instead, it wants a court to rule that Apple has to allow it to take payments from customers using its own systems rather than relying on the ones Apple mandates, for which the company also receives a 30 per cent commission.
In response, Apple has accused Epic of 'reckless behaviour' that 'made pawns of customers', and said it looks 'forward to making this clear to Australian courts'.
A lawsuit was lodged in the Federal Court on Monday, alleging Apple's conduct in its App Store is a misuse of market power that restricts competition.
Epic claims Apple's alleged conduct breaches Australian Consumer Law, but the company's founder is adamant it's more than just an argument over money between two massive corporations.
'It goes to the heart of whether consumers and creators can do business together directly on mobile platforms or are forced to use monopoly channels against wishes and interests,' Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said.
He said Apple's current business practices go against the spirit of its original products from when the company were 'pioneers of the personal computer'.
'Anyone could write code, anyone could release software and users could install software from sources of their choosing. Today's digital platforms must be similarly open to fair competition,' Mr Sweeney said.
Fortnite App For Pc
After the lawsuit was filed in Australia, Apple announced the commission cut, which Mr Sweeney said 'would be something to celebrate were it not a calculated move by Apple to divide app creators and preserve their monopoly on stores and payments'.
He said both 'iOS and Android need to be fully open to competition in stores and payments, with a genuinely level playing field among platform companies, app creators, and service providers'.
'That, and not gerrymandering the community with a patchwork of special deals, is the only path to a fair app marketplace.'
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The App Fortnite Free
Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney is launching a lawsuit against Apple in Australia over App Store commissions.Source:Supplied
Fortnite was removed from Apple's digital marketplace in August after Epic 'defied the App Store monopoly' by adding a new way to pay that cut Apple out of the deal, in violation of the store's policies.
Epic alleges those policies are so strict they 'would have even blocked the World Wide Web if it had been invented after the iPhone'.
Apple said the policies are there to protect consumers and pointed to a judge's description in a separate US lawsuit of Epic 'clandestinely' adding the payment option, which it 'intentionally omitted' when seeking Apple's approval for the update that activated it.
'Our priorities have always been to provide customers with a safe and trusted place to download software and to apply the rules equally to all developers,' a statement from Apple reads. Adobe photoshop cc 2018 free download.
The company added that Epic had been one of the most successful developers on the App Store, which allowed them to reach millions of iOS customers as it grew into a multi-billion dollar business. (In contrast Apple's value is measured in trillions.)
Get The App Fortnite
Fortnite is playable on a variety of devices including computers, consoles and mobile phones. Picture: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesSource:Supplied
Apple claims Epic knew what it was doing when it violated the policy that led to Fortnite being removed.
'Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines that apply equally to every developer and protect customers.'
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman Rod Sims told news.com.au the case will be 'fascinating' to watch.
Mr Sims said that 'it's good to see a case of this nature being brought' under the recently revised Section 46 of the
the law was revised in 2017 and 'now prohibits a firm with a substantial degree of market power from engaging in conduct that has the purpose, effect or likely effect of substantially lessening competition in a market' according to the consumer watchdog.
the accc is currently investigating app marketplaces, with a report due in march.
'we'll follow this with great interest,' mr sims said.
times=' new=' roman';=' font-size:=' 12pt;'=''>the law was revised in 2017 and 'now prohibits a firm with a substantial degree of market power from engaging in conduct that has the purpose, effect or likely effect of substantially lessening competition in a market' according to the consumer watchdog.
the accc is currently investigating app marketplaces, with a report due in march.
'we'll follow this with great interest,' mr sims said.
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