Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, has filed suit against Google and Apple over alleged antitrust violations, just hours after seeing the game dropped from both the Google Play Store and iOS App store. Apple and Google had, on Thursday, removed popular video game “Fortnite” from their app stores for violating the in-app payment guidelines.
Epic’s complaint alleges that Google’s payment restrictions on the Play Store constitute a monopoly, and thus a violation of both the Sherman Act and California’s Cartwright Act. “Twenty-two years later, Google has relegated its motto to nearly an afterthought,” the complaint alleges, “and is using its size to do evil upon competitors, innovators, customers, and users in a slew of markets it has grown to monopolize.”
Epic sued in US court seeking no money from Apple or Google, but rather injunctions that would end many of the companies’ practices related to their app stores, Reuters reported. 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.
The issue stems from a longstanding Apple App Store rule that states that apps must offer billing through Apple and pay them 30 per cent of revenue. Epic Games began offering customers a way to directly buy items for Fortnite on Thursday so as to circumvent the fees. And just hours later, Apple pulled the app off their App Store and Google did the same soon after. 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.
According to Google, Epic violated a rule requiring developers to use Google’s in-app billing system for products within video games. Apple and Google were among the major American technology companies to come under anti-competition scrutiny in a hearing before lawmakers last month.
Epic’s free-to-play battle-royal videogame “Fortnite” has reached massive popularity among young gamers since its launch in 2017, and competes with Tencent Holdings’ “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds”.
The title’s removal from the App Store means that new players will not be able to download it and that existing players cannot receive updates, but the game should continue to work on devices where it is already installed.
In both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store, “Fortnite” had about 2 million downloads in July 2020, according to mobile analytics firm SensorTower. But Apple users spent about $34 million while Android users spent only $2 million, according to SensorTower data.