Fortnite BANNED from Apple App Store, says Epic Games

Fortnite ban has been imposed by Apple App Store, revealed Epic Games. Apple has decided to keep Epic Games’ Fortnite off the App Store indefinitely, until the legal battle (including appeals) with the developer concludes, Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney stated on Wednesday. The move by Apple could keep Fortnite banned from the App Store for years while the legal process is completed, he explained on Twitter.

On Wednesday, Sweeney took to Twitter to criticise Apple’s move to keep Fortnite banned indefinitely, and said, “This is another extraordinary anticompetitive move by Apple, demonstrating their power to reshape markets and choose winners and losers.” The company had previously stated it was going to appeal the court’s decision. However, the process could take years, leading to a loss in revenue for Epic Games in the process.

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The CEO tweeted that Apple had previously stated that it would "welcome Epic’s return to the App Store if they agree to play by the same rules as everyone else". Sweeney argued that Epic had agreed and shared a letter addressed to Apple Fellow Phil Schiller where Epic promised to adhere to the company’s guidelines. He alleged that Apple has reneged on its promise in “another abuse of its monopoly power over a billion users.”

Sweeney also shared a letter sent to the company, and tweeted that Apple had informed Epic that Fortnite would be blacklisted from the Apple ecosystem “until the exhaustion of all court appeals”, adding that it could be as long as five years until it was completed. According to the Guardian, Apple confirmed the authenticity of the letter but did not comment on the matter.

Apple and Epic Games’ important case related to the former’s App Store policies ended earlier this month, when a US court restrained Apple from stopping developers informing users about alternative payment systems – but did not force Apple to allow third-party app stores on its iOS operating system for iPhones. The court ruled that Apple had engaged in anticompetitive conduct, but Epic had not demonstrated that Apple was an “illegal monopolist” as the company had claimed in its lawsuit.