After another Epic Games’s attempt to force Apple to return Fortnite to the App Store, the Cupertino-based company filed a counterclaim.
The company's arguments are laid out in 67 pages of the lawsuit, but the main message is that Epic Games knowingly violated the contract signed with Apple.
"Epic's flagrant disregard for its contractual commitments and other misconduct has caused significant harm to Apple. Epic's conduct threatens the very existence of the iOS ecosystem and its tremendous value to consumers," the lawsuit states.
Apple recalled that Epic Games earned more than $600 million through the App Store, and at that time, the company was satisfied with everything.
"Epic's lawsuit is nothing more than a basic disagreement over money. Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality it is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store. Epic's demands for special treatment and cries of "retaliation" cannot be reconciled with its flagrant breach of contract and its own business practices, as it rakes in billions by taking commissions on game developers' sales and charging consumers up to $99.99 for bundles of "V-Bucks," Apple said.
We note that this week, Epic Games asked the court to force Apple to return Fortnite to the App Store, as the absence of the game resulted in irreparable damage in the form 60% loss of active iOS players.
"Unbeknownst to Apple, Epic had been busy enlisting a legion of lawyers, publicists, and technicians to orchestrate a sneak assault on the App Store. Shortly after 2:00 a.m. on August 13, 2020, the morning on which Epic would activate its hidden commission-theft functionality, Mr.Sweeney again emailed Apple executives, declaring that "Epic will no longer adhere to Apple's payment processing restrictions," the lawsuit states.
As a reminder, Apple removed the Epic Games account from the App Store, so now the developer will not be able to download updates and new games to the store. Fortnite kicked off a new season in late August, but it's not available for iOS and Mac due to a conflict between Epic Games and Apple. It all started with the fact that Epic Games secretly implemented its own payment system into the popular online shooter Fortnite, trying to bypass Apple's 30% commission on the transaction.
Frank Stich
Apple has closed the players’ ability to sign in to Fortnite using the "Sign In with Apple" feature since September 11.
