Fortnite: Apple accuses Epic of seeking "special deal" before filing lawsuit

Apple has launched the latest volley in its battle with Epic Games, this time accusing the Fortnite creator of seeking a “special deal” back in June. Apple’s latest allegations suggest that Epic is involved in this fight simply to improve its profit margin, and not for the various idealistic reasons put forth by Tim Sweeney, Epic’s CEO.

---

Epic’s “special deal” for Fortnite

according to Apple's filing https://t.co/xy9UWt5xl9 pic.twitter.com/AOl0MqquM4

— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) August 21, 2020

During the allegations against Epic, Apple stated that Tim Sweeney asked for “a special deal for only Epic that would fundamentally change the way in which Epic offers apps on Apple's iOS platform.

”Apple frames this request Epic seeking a larger share of the money made by Fortnite for iOS, something which they believe would cut into their fee as a distributor, occasionally referred to as the “Apple Tax.”

However, Tim Sweeney did not let much time pass before issuing his response, and in doing so he brought attention to his original letter to Apple.

---

Sweeney’s Letter

"We hope that Apple will reflect on its platform restrictions and begin to make historic changes that bring to the world's billion iOS consumers the rights and freedoms enjoyed on the world's leading open computing platforms including Windows and macOS." pic.twitter.com/cRJRO8dQbG

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) August 21, 2020

In referencing the public letter, Sweeney draws attention to the lines asking for changes which would benefit all iOS App Store users. He frames the changes he seeks as something which would 'dramatically' change the way Apple conducts business rather than something reserved exclusively for Fortnite.

The Fortnite CEO’s letter reads much more like an attempted ultimatum, a list of outrageous demands that would need to be met at great cost in order to avoid a fight. Sweeney outright asks Apple to allow competitors onto their App Store, something which Apple has no financial reason to do. They have created a virtual space wherein all money must flow through them, and any changes to that would simply lower their own profits.

If you haven’t yet read the letter, you should definitely give it a quick glance. Sweeney uses language referring to Apple’s contracts as “unilateral standards,” all of which makes this sound more like an unequal treaty between a powerful nation and client state rather than a simple business transaction.

This is continued in a more recent letter which refers to bringing iOS consumers “The rights and freedoms enjoyed on the world’s leading open computing platforms.”

---

Corporate Nationhood and Virtual Territories

Yes, Apple really is coming for the web too. They’re hijacking web traffic to publishers and directing it to their own app. And this is the core problem: a big part of Apple’s growth comes not from creating things, but from building paywalls in front of the work of others. https://t.co/EfNOLbv9vI

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) August 22, 2020

The comparison to diplomatic treaties makes Epic and Fortnite sound like governments with virtual territory, and perhaps that is something which needs to be taken into account. Apple certainly “taxes” commerce within its territory, in addition to passing and enforcing “laws.”

Epic, meanwhile, acts as though the Fortnite community is its own virtual “military.” It should be remembered that these are both companies that take up physical space in the real world, not virtual kingdoms that can operate as petty dictators.

Ultimately, this “battle” will not be won through conquest or economic embargo. Apple is one of the richest companies in the world. Fortnite is the most profitable game in the world going on three years running. Both will survive without the business or cooperation of the other.

But this fight raises a good point about the rest of us.

In a world where companies act like kingdoms in a virtual space, what room is there for a small independent studio to make room for itself? How could a fresh startup expect to compete with the giants of Apple and Fortnite?