Epic Games and Apple are feuding over a move the Fortnite developer made without Apple’s approval, which resulted in the removal of Fortnite from the App Store. If you’ve seen #FreeFortnite trending on social media or caught that Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite video Epic posted, you’re probably wondering what happened. Here’s a quick breakdown.
On Thursday, August 13, Epic Games introduced its own direct, in-app payment system for Fortnite across all platforms. Called the Fortnite Mega Drop, the new system implemented permanent discounts of up to 20% on V-bucks, Fortnite’s in-game currency. On PC and console, this isn’t a problem, but on mobile devices, things get a little more controversial.
Both Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store collect a 30% fee from in-game purchases on their platforms. The new payment system gives players a choice between processing their in-app purchase through Apple (on iOS) or Google (on Android), thus paying a few dollars more and allowing Apple or Google to take their usual cut, or bypassing this step altogether and paying a lower price directly to Epic. By introducing a direct payment system that sidesteps Apple’s fee, Epic Games has violated the App Store guidelines.
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