And yet another chapter unfolds in the war between Apple and Epic Games. The two have been clashing since earlier this month and it’s taken quite a toll on Epic, which recently just saw its developer account wiped clean.
While Fortnite was already scrubbed from their account. Now, if you already downloaded the game to your Apple device, you’re mostly unaffected. That said, its caveat is you won’t get the Marvel-themed content since the game cannot be updated.
The other games already on the App Store, such as Battle Breakers and Infinity Blade, were needlessly caught in the cross-fire and have also been purged alongside the battle royale mega title. Naturally, both sides blame each other for this move. Apple blames Epic Games for implementing TOS-violating updates. Apple has confirmed this not to be a mistake and wished it didn’t have to happen, per MacRumors.
“We are disappointed that we have had to terminate the Epic Games account on the App Store. We have worked with the team at Epic Games for many years on their launches and releases. The court recommended that Epic comply with the App Store guidelines while their case moves forward, guidelines they’ve followed for the past decade until they created this situation.”
Apple then continued, putting the blame squarely on Epic for putting out updates that they claim to be designed to violate the App Store’s TOS.
“Epic has refused. Instead they repeatedly submit Fortnite updates designed to violate the guidelines of the App Store. This is not fair to all other developers on the App Store and is putting customers in the middle of their fight. We hope that we can work together again in the future, but unfortunately that is not possible today.”
Epic on the other-hand blames Apple for hindering its ability to give the best prices to its players because of its 30 percent cut and current model. This battle has gone on for a while, leading into several twists and turns including Epic filing a lawsuit, Apple threatening to cut the company from iOS and MacOS development tools, and now, following through and wiping its developer account clean.
The pull comes directly after Microsoft emplored Apple not to cut Epic off from the development tools as it would cause a hindrance to third-parties. Feasibly, it would also make people who may have agreed disgruntled at the fact they may have to remake their game or modify it significantly on another engine.
This all started when Apple pulled Epic Games’ cash cow – Fortnite – for breaking its terms of service by implementing an in-app payment processing feature. With the option of the in-app payment, players would get a discount and it circumvents the mandatory cut that Apple requires for all its developers.
With no end in sight, a part of us is sure this won’t be the last we’ve heard of this very much public feud between the two tech giants.
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