Apple Says Epic Games ‘Wants Us to Be Android, But We Don’t Want to Be’
The highly-anticipated Epic Games vs. Apple trial started today in a federal court in Oakland, California, with lawyers for both companies providing opening remarks before District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
Lawyers for Epic Games attempted to paint the App Store as anti-competitive and monopolistic, noting that developers are required to utilize Apples in-app purchase system, and hence pay Apple a 30% commission on sales. (The rate drops to 15% for subscriptions after the very first year and for certifying designers who sign up for Apples new Small Business Program and make less than $1 million per calendar year in net earnings.).
Legendary Games described the App Store as a “walled garden” and presented e-mails from existing and former Apple executives like Steve Jobs, Phil Schiller, Craig Federighi, Eddy Cue, and Scott Forstall in an attempt to prove this claim.
Legendary Games desires Apple to be forced to allow third-party app stores on iOS and to let developers use direct payment systems, but Apple argued that a single, highly-curated App Store is needed to safeguard the security, privacy, reliability, and quality that consumers have pertained to expect from the company.
” Epic wants us to be Android, but we dont want to be,” stated Apple attorney Karen Dunn, describing the capability to sideload apps outside of the Google Play store on Android devices. “Our customers do not desire that either,” she included.
Legendary Games is the developer of popular battle royale game Fortnite, which Apple got rid of from the App Store in August 2020, shortly after Epic Games slyly introduced a direct payment choice in the app, in defiance of the App Store rules. Impressive Games then submitted a managed claim against Apple, implicating the business of anti-competitive habits.
At the time, Apple said Epic Games “took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store standards that are used equally to every developer and developed to keep the store safe for our users,” including that it would “strive to work with Epic to fix these violations so they can return Fortnite to the App Store.” Legendary Games has actually declined to comply, however, and Fortnite stays not available on the App Store.
Impressive Games CEO Tim Sweeney testified at the trial today, stating that by introducing the direct payment choice, he desired consumers to see that Apple works out “total control” over iOS and software application available on the platform.
The trial is anticipated to continue for an overall of three weeks, with Apples CEO Tim Cook and other executives expected to affirm.