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Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has previously accused Apple of ‘malicious compliance’ with the DMA after calling it out for anti-competitive measures.
As a very public battle between the two companies continues to escalate, Epic Games has revealed that Apple recently terminated an account the video game maker intended to use to develop an app store for iOS.
The Epic Games Sweden developer account approved by Apple last month would have allowed the company to bring its app store and Fortnite to iOS devices in Europe after the iPhone maker allowed alternative marketplaces in its ecosystem to comply with EU laws.
Apple has terminated our developer account and now we cannot develop the Epic Games Store for iOS.
This is a serious violation of the EU’s Digital Markets Act. We will continue to fight to get back on iOS!https://t.co/BmqFxG26ul
— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) March 6, 2024
In a statement published yesterday (6 March), Epic said that the termination of this account is a “serious violation” of the Digital Markets Act – which came into force this month – and shows Apple has “no intention of allowing true competition” on iOS devices.
“In terminating Epic’s developer account, Apple is taking out one of the largest potential competitors to the Apple App Store. They are undermining our ability to be a viable competitor and they are showing other developers what happens when you try to compete with Apple or are critical of their unfair practices,” the company wrote in a statement.
“If Apple maintains its power to kick a third-party marketplace off iOS at its sole discretion, no reasonable developer would be willing to utilise a third-party app store, because they could be permanently separated from their audience at any time.”
As part of the statement, Epic shared a letter sent by Apple’s lawyers dated 2 March, in which they called the company “verifiably untrustworthy” and said Apple does not believe that Epic will comply with commitments under the developer agreement.
‘Apple can crush any of us on a whim’
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has been one of the most outspoken critics of Apple’s attempts to comply with the DMA. In January, he said that proposals made by the company to comply with the EU rules were “a devious new instance of malicious compliance”.
“They are forcing developers to choose between App Store exclusivity and the store terms, which will be illegal under DMA, or accept a new also-illegal anti-competitive scheme rife with new junk fees on downloads and new Apple taxes on payments they don’t process,” he said.
“Apple proposes that it can choose which stores are allowed to compete with their App Store. They could block Epic from launching the Epic Games Store and distributing Fortnite through it, for example, or block Microsoft, Valve, Good Old Games or new entrants.”
Epic is not alone in its criticism. An open letter signed by 34 organisations – including Epic, Spotify and the president of Microsoft’s Xbox business – was sent to the European Commission last week, stating various concerns about Apple’s proposed measures to comply with the DMA.
Thanks to everyone who is speaking up against Apple blocking Epic from competing with their App Store.
On PC, we’ve served over 270,000,000 customers, so the victims of Apple’s competition bans include hundreds of millions of future customers on iOS who are deprived of better…
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) March 6, 2024
Apple is already in hot water with the EU after being slammed with a €1.8bn fine this week for what the bloc calls anti-steering provisions that restricted developers from informing iOS users of alternative music subscription options available outside the App Store.
The antitrust investigation was launched after Spotify issued a formal complaint to the European Commission in 2019, in which the streaming giant claimed, among other things, that Apple limited its communications with customers.
Apple said it will appeal the fine because it believes the Commission failed to “uncover any credible evidence” of consumer harm or anticompetitive behaviour.
In his latest tirade against Apple, Sweeney claimed on X that the company is using fear as a means to bypass EU rules and prevent competition.
“Apple is doing everything they can to sow fear so that, even if they’re forced to end this blockade, every developer will know Apple can crush any of us on a whim, and therefore that competition is futile. It’s a sad slope for the world’s most respected company to be slipping down, but slipping it is, and it’s a long way down.”
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