The creators of Fortnite are headed to war against Apple.
Epic Games, the company that developed Fortnite, on Thursday said it had filed a lawsuit against Apple shortly after the online game was removed from the App Store, Variety reports.
The App Store removal was prompted by Epic Games introducing a new direct payment system in Fortnite in an attempt to avoid the 30 percent fee Apple collects on in-app purchases, allowing players to buy the game's "V-Bucks" for a discounted price if they did so through this "Epic direct payment" rather than through the App Store. That didn't go over well with Apple, which within hours removed the game from the App Store and blasted Epic Games for introducing the feature "with the express intent of violating" its guidelines, per The Verge. The payment system was also introduced on Android.
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Epic Games clearly anticipated Apple's move, as it announced a lawsuit almost immediately afterward. The complaint describes the App Store removal as "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." It also accuses Apple of becoming "what it once railed against: the behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition, and stifle innovation," with Epic Games saying it's bringing the lawsuit in an effort to "end Apple's unfair and anti-competitive actions."
And that's not all: Epic Games soon premiered a short film within Fortnite itself parodying Apple's famous "1984" commercial, calling on players to help "#FreeFortnite." Brendan Morrow
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