CARY – Epic Games is suing Apple and Google after the tech giants removed its mega-hit game “Fornite” from their app stores.
The lawsuits, filed within hours of each other on Thursday evening, capped a wild day that started with the Cary-based games developer releasing a new payment system that skirts giving Apple and Google a cut of the sales.
Both platforms take a standard 30 percent of purchases on their app stores.
Epic Games is now offering the “Fornite Mega Drop” — a permanent 20 percent discount on V-Bucks, the in-game currency used in “Fortnite.” However, it only works if players paid Epic Games directly rather than using Apple or Google’s payment systems.
This broke rules applied by both stores.
“The open Android ecosystem lets developers distribute apps through multiple app stores. For game developers who choose to use the Play Store, we have consistent policies that are fair to developers and keep the store safe for users,” Google said in a statement send to USA TODAY.
In tandem with lawsuit, Epic mocks Apple with short film on ‘Fortnite’ – watch it
“While Fortnite remains available on Android, we can no longer make it available on Play because it violates our policies. However, we welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions with Epic and bring Fortnite back to Google Play.”
The charges
In both lawsuits filed in the United States District Court of California, Epic Games accuses the tech giants of “anti-competitive restraints and monopolistic practices.”
Specifically, it said Apple has become what it once railed against: “the behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition, and stifle innovation.”
Apple’s removal of Fortnite, the filing added, is yet another example of Apple “flexing its enormous power in order to impose unreasonable restraints and unlawfully maintain its 100 percent” monopoly over the iOS In-App Payment Processing Market.”
In the lawsuit against Google, Epic said it does not seek monetary compensation from the courts for the injuries it has suffered, or a side deal or favorable treatment.
Epic Games offers new way for in-app purchases, bypassing Apple’s and Google’s app stores
Instead, it seeks “injunctive relief that would deliver Google’s broken promise: an open, competitive Android ecosystem for all users and industry participants. Such injunctive relief is sorely needed.”
A spokesperson for Epic Games declined to comment on the legal proceedings. However, he referred to the company’s #FreeFortnite blog and public FAQ for answers to additional questions. He said it would be updated throughout the day.
To read the lawsuits in full, go here and here.
Long time coming
Epic Game’s founder and CEO Tim Sweeney, along with other developers and lawmakers, has long criticized the tech giants’ rules of taking a cut of payments made for app-related purchases.
Last December, he said he had specifically asked that Google not enforce its publicly stated expectation that products distributed through Google Play use Google’s payment service for in-app purchase.
“We believe this form of tying of a mandatory payment service with a 30 percent fee is illegal in the case of a distribution platform with over 50 percent market share,” he said in a statement.
Sweeney stressed that Epic is not seeking a “special exception.” “Rather we expect to see a general change to smartphone industry practices in this regard.”
He further noted that Epic operates a major PC storefront and payment service.
“We do not force developers using our store to use our payment ecosystem,” he said.
Epic has over the past two years built Fortnite into a global powerhouse with hundreds of millions of users.
The company is now worth a whopping $17.3 billion after closing a $1.78 billion round of funding consisting of primary capital and secondary purchases from employee equity holders last week.
This round includes a previously announced $250 million strategic investment from Sony Corporation. Additional investment partners include Baillie Gifford, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and David Tepper.
