Fortnite players on iOS devices will be left behind as the new season of the battle royale launches on other platforms.
As explained in a Q&A about Epic Games' feud with Apple, the tech giant has blocked all updates to Fortnite, meaning iOS users will be stuck with an old version of the game, Chapter 2 Season 3, while all other platforms move forward with Chapter 2 Season 4.
Apple chose to remove Fortnite from its storefront, in retaliation to the games behemoth adding a new payment option which would prevent the tech firm from taking its 30 per cent commission.
"Epic gave Fortnite players on iOS a choice between Apple payment and Epic direct payment, passing on savings to direct purchasers. Apple retaliated by blocking Fortnite updates on iOS devices and threatening to prevent Epic from creating software for all Apple devices — not just on Fortnite but all of our games, and Unreal Engine too," said Epic.
Furthermore, due to Apple threatening to prevent the use of Epic's Unreal Engine on iOS and Mac, a judge has granted the games giant a temporary restraining order. However, Fortnite is still banned from the App Store. Apple has since responded to the ruling placed by judge Gonzalez-Rogers, thanking her "for recognising that Epic's problem is entirely self-inflicted and is in their own power to resolve."
Apple’s response to the Judge’s temporary order pic.twitter.com/BXwvWcgiCB
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) August 25, 2020
Easy fix
Apple has claimed that Epic deliberately chose to "cheat" it after being denied a special deal. However, the Fortnite creator's chief exec Tim Sweeney has since disproved this claim, as he publicly displayed his email correspondence with Apple, which specifically showed that he was asking for any changes to be granted to all iOS developers.
The tech giant has insisted that there is a simple solution to this, and that is for Epic to remove the new payment option it created, adhering to the rules Apple has placed for developers using the App Store. However, the American games firm will not budge from its position, believing Apple to be operating a "monopoly."
"Apple is asking that Epic revert Fortnite to exclusively use Apple payments. Their proposal is an invitation for Epic to collude with Apple to maintain their monopoly over in-app payments on iOS, suppressing free-market competition and inflating prices. As a matter of principle, we won't participate in this scheme," said Epic.
"You, as a mobile device owner, have the right to install apps from sources of your choosing. Software makers have the right to freely express their ideas and to compete in a fair marketplace. Apple's policies take these freedoms away."
