Fortnite feels like a game of milliseconds, but in a similarly short time Apple kicked this popular online game out of its App Store. And a new digital war has begun. Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, challenged Apple (Apple has threatened to kill off Fortnite on iOS altogether). This is the natural conclusion of Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney's long-standing battle against Apple's business practices in the iOS App Store.

Apple kicked Fortnite out of the App Store on August 13, hours after Epic Games added a new way to pay for items within its iPhone and Android apps. This violates Apple's rules because it goes through Apple's payment process, and Epic does not have to share 30% of standard sales with the iPhone maker.

Apple was not alone in taking action against Epic and Fortnite; Google also removed the game from Google Play, citing the same in-app purchase issues as Apple.

One might wonder why Epic would try to avoid giving 30% of its sales to Apple and Google, but according to a SensorTower report, Fortnite has sold over $1 billion on the iOS and Google Play stores.

In Northern California, a judge blocked Apple from suspending Epic Games' account in the Apple Developer Program. This is believed to be to protect the development of a number of games that use Epic's Unreal Engine on iOS.

Apple had threatened Epic Games that it would suspend developer accounts for iOS and macOS on August 28. Epic announced the move in a tweet.

Epic and Fortnite were already prepared for this reaction and released a short movie, "Nineteen Eigthy-Fortnite," which can be viewed below. In this clip (an obvious riff on the 1984 Super Bowl commercial that positioned Apple as a revolutionary company), an Apple-headed man on a series of monitors celebrates "the anniversary of the Platform Unity Directive" and shows how "they" (apparently app developers) gave labor and dreams and In return, he continues to shout about how the company has gained control and profits.

When the voice says, "We will win," a rainbow-haired Fortnite character throws a unicorn-headed pickaxe into the air and breaks the screen. It's almost a shot-for-shot remake of an old ad.

It continues to reproduce the old ad, saying:

"Epic Games has defied the App Store monopoly. In retaliation, Apple has blocked Fortnite from a billion devices, join the fight to stop 2020 from becoming '1984'."

.

For those with short memories, here's Apple's original 1984 ad:

An Apple spokesperson told The Verge, "Epic Games is committed to the App Store Guidelines, which apply equally to all developers and are designed to keep the store secure for our users. Epic Games has taken the unfortunate step of violating the App Store Guidelines, which apply equally to all developers and are designed to keep the store secure for users.

Shortly thereafter, Epic announced that it was taking Apple to court and tweeted a link to its legal filing. 25]

"Rather than tolerate this healthy competition and compete on the merits of its offering, Apple responded by selling Fortnite on the App Store We have responded by suspending it. This means that new users will not be able to download the app, and users who have already downloaded previous versions of the app from the App Store will not be able to update to the latest version. In addition, Fortnite players who downloaded the app from the App Store will no longer be able to receive Fortnite updates through the App Store, either automatically or by searching the App Store. Apple's removal of Fortnite is another example of Apple bending its immense power to impose unreasonable restraints and illegally maintain its 100% monopoly over the iOS in-app payment processing market."

While Apple and Epic exchanged accusations, Google took its own action and removed Fortnite from Google Play; according to a Google statement, "We can no longer offer it on Play because it violates our policies." It is. However, we continue our discussions with Epic and welcome the opportunity to bring Fortnite back to Google Play."

It is possible to sideload Fortnite to your Android phone by installing it directly from Epic's website. (In fact, that was the only way to download Fortnite for Android until a few years ago.) The app is still available from Samsung's Galaxy Store.

On August 17, Epic announced that Apple is closing Epic's developer accounts and iOS/macOS development tools. This will negatively impact all iOS/macOS games that use Epic's Unreal Engine tools, which is a major blow to Epic as a company and could have a significant impact on Epic's bottom line.

Epic Games has applied for Apple to suspend its developer accounts, and the application includes the following note:

"If the Unreal Engine can no longer support the Apple platform, software developers using it will be forced to use alternative methods. The damage to Epic's ongoing business and to its customers' reputation and trust would be incalculable and irreparable. Preliminary injunctive relief is necessary to prevent Apple from destroying Epic before this case reaches a judgment.

Epic is also rallying users to protest Apple's decision with a #FreeFortnite campaign, and the company has also shared an FAQ about the whole situation to tell its side of the story.

The timing is very deliberate on Epic's part and feels like a test of how it will respond to violations of its payment rules amid Apple's increased scrutiny. In June of this year, the European Union launched an antitrust investigation to analyze how Apple does business on the App Store.

Epic is not the only company breaking Apple's rules; Basecamp's email app, Hey, also attempted to break the rules regarding how apps are listed on the App Store. Soon, Hey found a workaround by giving people disposable email accounts for testing, and Apple let them back into the App Store.

Apple was also one of the companies under scrutiny by the U.S. government when Tim Cook (along with Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Google's Sundar Pichai, and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg) was questioned by lawmakers on Capitol Hill in late July.

In an interview with CNBC earlier this year, Sweeney revealed his criticism of Apple, calling the App Store an "absolute monopoly."

As The Verge reported, Apple is not strict on its 30% rule, taking only 15% of Amazon purchases made on Amazon's iOS and iPad apps and contracting Amazon at half that rate. Apple revealed in 2019 that it collects a 15% fee on payments made by Spotify subscribers who signed up between 2014 and 2016.

It is unclear what steps Apple and Epic will take next, but we'll keep an eye on things to see who budges first; stay tuned to Tom's Guide for more on Fortnite's Epic fight against Apple's rules.