Under pressure from European regulators, Apple took a step back in its feud with Epic Games on Friday, clearing the way for Epic to bring Fortnite and its own games store to iPhone and iPad in Europe.
Earlier this week, Apple took steps to block Epic from starting a store and bringing back the popular game, which Apple removed from its App Store in 2020 after Epic violated the maker’s in-app payment rules of iPhone in protest.
Apple’s decision to open its doors to Epic follows Thursday’s EU deadline for big tech companies to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a set of rules that bans Apple and Google to control which applications are distributed on devices equipped with iOS and Android. Operating systems.
Thierry Breton, EU industry chief, said regulators had warned Apple of the iPhone maker’s decision earlier this week to block Epic’s potential return.
“I note with satisfaction that following our contacts, Apple has decided to reverse its decision to exclude Epic. From the second day, #DMA is already showing very concrete results! » Breton said on Twitter/X.
Epic and Apple have been locked in a legal battle since 2020, when the gaming company alleged that Apple’s practice of charging up to 30% commissions on in-app payments on its iOS devices violated U.S. antitrust rules. Epic lost its court battle against Apple, and the game creator’s bold gamble to intentionally break Apple’s rules during a protest got him banned from Apple devices.
Other Apple critics who haven’t deliberately broken Apple’s rules – even those like Spotify, which earlier this week managed to persuade EU antitrust regulators to impose a $1.84 fine billion euros ($2 billion) for anti-competitive actions in the digital music market – have not been heard. removed from Apple App Store.
Developer accounts serve as pawns in a larger battle
The most recent tangle between Apple and Epic concerned Apple’s developer accounts, which are normally a minor but necessary administrative step for developers before selling apps on Apple devices.
Apple reinstated Epic Games’ developer account on Friday, two days after blocking the company from launching its own online marketplace on iPhone and iPad in Europe.
The game developer said it will continue with plans to bring the Epic Games store and Fortnite game back to iOS to the continent.
“This sends a strong signal to developers that the European Commission will act quickly to enforce the law on digital markets and hold controllers to account,” Epic Games added.
Apple said earlier this week that it terminated Epic’s account because the company’s actions made it question whether it intended to follow new rules that Apple had established to comply with the DMA.
“Following conversations with Epic, they are committed to following the rules, including our DMA policies. As a result, Epic Sweden AB has been authorized to re-sign the development agreement and accepted into the Apple Developer Program,” Apple said in a statement.