Apple Terminates Epic Games' Developer Account

Apple has terminated Epic Games' developer account, preventing the company from submitting app updates and removing all its titles from the App Store.

Here is Apple's official statement:

We are disappointed that we have had to terminate the Epic Games account on the App Store. We have worked with the team at Epic Games for many years on their launches and releases. The court recommended that Epic comply with the App Store guidelines while their case moves forward, guidelines they’ve followed for the past decade until they created this situation. Epic has refused. Instead they repeatedly submit Fortnite updates designed to violate the guidelines of the App Store. This is not fair to all other developers on the App Store and is putting customers in the middle of their fight. We hope that we can work together again in the future, but unfortunately that is not possible today.


Users will still be able to play titles they've downloaded; however, they won't be able to redownload them. It's unclear if this will spark new legal action as iOS users are now being denied access to apps and services they've paid for via the App Store.

Earlier this month, Epic Games launched a direct payment feature in Fortnite that saved users 20% but didn't give Apple 30% of its revenue. Apple promptly pulled the app from the App Store for violating its guidelines; however, the company was expecting this response and was ready with a lawsuit accusing Apple of anti-competitive restraints and monopolistic practices. A similar scenario played out with Google and the Play Store but it's possible to sideload Fortnite on Android, so the impact to users isn't as severe. Apple then threatened to prevent Epic Games from accessing any of its developer tools by August 28 and crush Unreal Engine. Epic responded by filing for a restraining order. A judge granted the temporary restraining order against Apple but only in regards to Unreal Engine. Since Apple was willing to let Fortnite back on the App Store with its 30% cut, the judge recommended Epic return Fortnite to the App Store adhering to Apple's rules while it argued against them in court. Epic has apparently decided not to do that on principle.

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