[Discussion] Fortnite sues Apple and Google after being removed from app stores

[Uncrowned Guard]

Fortnite, the wildly successful video game, is owned by Epic Games who is currently in the process of suing the mobile giants Apple and Google after getting removed from the app stores on both iOS and Android phones.  Why was Fortnite removed?  Well, they attempted to bypass the charges set by those companies when an item is purchased from their store to "lower consumer prices".

For most apps that would try this, it would be a simple ban from the store and the story would end, but Epic Games is clearly going use their vast income to put up a fight.  If Epic Games wins this battle, then the far reaching effects of this lawsuit will change much more than just the stores you see on your phone and may hit into nearly every industry locked behind a singular "store", like game consoles and everyone's favorite Microsoft Store.

However, why would Epic Games be able to win this battle as the terms are clear and fair across the board.  Well the answer to that question is what this lawsuit will find out, but anti-trust laws are a major part this lawsuit as a large company locking all their services behind a single payment method starts to become more and more like a monopoly as the company grows to the size of Apple or Google.  As the lawsuit states: “Apple’s removal of Fortnite 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,”

So, we will have to wait and see how this battle of giants ends and hope that in some way it benefits the end user.  However, with other tech giants like Microsoft trying to get xCloud into the app stores and even Google with its own Stadia platform, the battle may very well be as clear as mud as more parties get involved.

View full article