To protest against Apple’s unfair policies and charges, makers of the hugely popular game ‘Fortnite’ broke the rules and sparked off a legal battle between the companies. In support of Epic Games’ rally against the Californian tech giant, Microsoft is set to lend its aid.
In an escalation of the aforementioned legal battle, that started with Fortnite calling out the mandatory 30% payability to AppStore, Apple has decided to pull Epic’s access to developer tools on iOS and Mac.
According to Microsoft, this would damage a “critical technology” for many third-party game creators. This backing partly stands due to the fact that Epic Games owns ‘Unreal Engine’ – a tool widely used by developers from other studios to build games, virtual-reality VR experiences, and special effects in major television shows and films, and Microsoft is no exception.
Microsoft said, “Denying Epic access to Apple’s developer tools would prevent Epic from supporting Unreal Engine on iOS and macOS, and will place Unreal Engine and those game creators that have built, are building and may build games on it at a substantial disadvantage.”
The company further added that the discontinuation of Epic’s ability to develop and support Unreal Engine for iOS or macOS will harm game creators and gamers.
With reference to this ongoing clash, Xbox head Phil Spencer tweeted: “Ensuring that Epic has access to the latest Apple technology is the right thing for game developers and gamers.”
Epic and numerous other apps (including popular media and news apps) have voiced out a strong objection against the “monopoly” in the App Store – specifically the 30% cut Apple demands from in-game purchases. It had prepared all required legal documentation and staged a huge marketing push after it decided to circumvent the rule by offering players a discount that was made available away from the app.
Meanwhile, Apple’s stance on this matter has been made clear. The company claims to have applied rules regularly, and that it “won’t make an exception for Epic because we don’t think it’s right to put their business interests ahead of the guidelines that protect our customers”.
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