Apple To Block Epic Games Developer Account Over Fortnite Fight

Game developer Epic said Apple plans to terminate its account with the tech giant’s mega-popular App Store, according to a 9to5Mac.

Epic’s page on the App Store will be deleted by Aug. 28, the company said on Twitter, calling it “retaliation” for the lawsuit it filed against the tech giant.

Epic said Apple plans to cut off Epic from iOS and Mac development tools. In response, Epic has asked the Northern California District court to block Apple from doing so, according to the report.

Epic’s most recent court filing said Apple “is attacking Epic’s entire business in unrelated areas” beyond the Fortnite issue, as by cutting off access to developer tools, Epic won’t be able to make software to engage with Apple products.

The company said one denial that will hurt it is the loss of the software Apple and other companies often make available to help facilitate software development for the OS, the report stated.

“Apple intends to deny Epic access to that widely available material,” the filing said. “Without that access, Epic cannot develop future versions of the Unreal Engine for use on iOS or macOS.”

The feud between the two companies stems from Epic’s popular Fortnite game being pulled from Apple’s store after it reportedly breached the store’s rules by putting a direct payment method into the game, including discounts to help boost that option, which would have the effect of circumventing Apple’s payment method on the site.

Epic filed a lawsuit against the tech giant right away, claiming Apple had too much power over the iOS In-App payments market. Apple had, however, said it was willing to work with the other company to get Fortnite back on the App Store.

Amid the drama, Google also removed Fortnite’s app from its store due to Epic’s direct payments offer, prompting another Epic lawsuit which called Google’s Play Store “an unavoidable middleman” for companies looking to reach mobile users.