Updated at 7:30 p.m. : Following the lightning intervention of the commission, the director of Epic Games Tim Sweeney announces that Apple has chosen to reinstate the developer account and allow the company to launch its own application store on the iOS platform, in accordance with the European Digital Markets Regulation (DMA).
“Under the DMA regime, there is no room for gatekeepers who silence developers”: on Twitterthe European Commissioner announced on Thursday that he was taking up the controversy which once again pitted Apple against Epic Games and indicated that he had asked the Commission’s teams to look into this new subject.
Epic announced on Wednesday that Apple had closed its developer account opened via its Swedish subsidiary on the platform, less than three weeks after its approval by Apple services. Epic Games had made no secret of its intention to use this account to offer European iOS users its own application store, Epic Games Store, on iOS terminals.
This great return of Epic Games to Apple was made possible by the new policy put in place by Apple following the entry into force of the DMA: under this text, Apple had to open its platform to application stores third parties, and the company had therefore published new rules authorizing third-party application stores, subject to accepting a new price list, paying a new tax called Core Technology Fee and submitting to several controls from Apple.
The worm in the apple
To justify this decision, Apple’s lawyers explain that Epic was not able to demonstrate its good faith and its intention to follow the new policies issued by Apple on its App store. In a press release relayed by MacRumors, Apple recalls having obtained from the American courts the right to close the accounts of any entity or subsidiary of Epic Games on its platform, and having chosen “in light of the past and present behavior of ‘Epic Games, to exercise this right.’
Epic, for its part, denounces an unfair decision going against the obligations imposed on Apple under the DMA. According to Epic, Apple’s move is primarily aimed at preventing them from offering their own Epic Games Store app store on iOS platforms. But Apple is subject to the obligations imposed on access controllers under the DMA, article 6 of which specifies that “the access controller must authorize and make technically possible the installation and use of third-party applications or stores third-party applications on its operating system.”
An article whose writing seems quite clearly aimed at Apple: the manufacturer has long been accused of having wanted to prevent competition from accessing its users by forcing application developers wishing to offer their services on iOS to go through its own store. application and therefore submitting to its rules.
Long-standing rivalry
Since 2020, Epic has been the main representative of the revolt against the conditions imposed by Apple on third-party developers on its operating systems. Apple had already closed an Epic developer account at the time, Epic having set up an in-app purchase system on the Fortnite game without going through the App Store and bypassing the 30% commission charged by Apple on all in-app purchases offered on applications running on iOS.
In response, Apple removed Epic Games’ access to its app store, a decision which pushed Epic to file a complaint in the United States: this first trial ended in 2021 with a mixed victory for Apple, which had obtained compensatory damages but was ordered to open its application stores to in-app purchases via external platforms.
In parallel with its action on American soil, Epic had also filed similar action in the courts of other countries, including proceedings in Australia, the hearing of which is scheduled for March 2024. A highly anticipated trial, in which Apple also makes reference in its letter justifying its recent decision: based on documents communicated within the framework of the Australian procedure, Apple considers that the Swedish subsidiary of Epic Games is only a means for Epic Games to circumvent the rules implemented on its App Store.