Apple is a lawsuit brought by Epic Games against Apple in August 2020 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, related to Apples practices in the iOS App Store.Epic Games specifically had challenged Apples restrictions on apps from having other in-app purchasing methods outside of the one offered by the App Store.Tech giant Apple has kicked video game Fortnite off the App Store, removing users' ability to install and update the game on iOS devices.Apple Inc said on Friday it had terminated Fortnite creator Epic Games account on its App Store amid a legal battle over the iPhone makers in-app.Despite the fact that Fortnite is not available to users of Apple products through the App Store. Those who have and enjoy a Mac in their day to day continue to have the possibility of enjoying a few hours of fun playing Fortnite, since Epic Games has enabled the download of its version for macOS from its website.The Action Building game where you team up with other players to build massive forts and battle against hordes of monsters, all while crafting and looting in giant worlds where no two games are ever the same.And the games developer, Epic Games, has hit back in a big way.Here's what we know about it. Wait, why did Apple pull Fortnite from the App Store?Apple removed Fortnite for violating the company's in-app payment guidelines.The move came after Epic Games enabled a direct payment feature on the Fortnite app.Google has also removed Fortnite from its Play Store, but did not immediately respond to a request for comment.But a Google spokesman said Epic had violated a rule requiring developers to use Google's in-app billing system for products within video games.You can still install Fortnite on Android, however, Epic is pointing users to its website instead. Here they can either download Fortnite through the Epic Games app or via the Samsung Galaxy Store on Samsung devices. What's the go with these payments?Fortnite is free, but users can pay for in-game items like weapons and skins through its direct payment option.Epic said the system was the same payment system it already uses to process payments on PC and Mac computers and Android phones.Apple takes a cut of between 15-30 per cent for most app subscriptions and payments made inside apps.Fortnite has reached massive popularity among young gamers since its launch in 2017. (But there are some exceptions for companies that already have a credit card on file for iPhone customers if they also offer an in-app payment that would benefit Apple."Apple is just blocking direct payments for certain products and companies ," the developer said.Epic says Fortnite's direct payment option saves players up to 20 per cent.Analysts believe games are the biggest contributor to spending inside the App Store, which is in turn the largest component of Apple's $46.3 billion-per-year services segment.Mobile app data analysis firm SensorTower says, since its release, Fortnite has reached 133.2 million installs and seen $1.2 billion in spending worldwide on Apple's App Store alone.The title's removal from the App Store means that new players will not be able to download it and that existing players cannot receive updates, but the game will continue to work on devices where it is already installed.Apple also wanted to cut off Epic’s access to its developer tools program, which would have affected any apps that use Epic’s Unreal Engine. On September 8, Apple filed its response, and asked a federal judge to award it damages.Apple, a $2 trillion company, has not only refused to consider changing its lucrative business model, but it also kicked Fortnite out of the App Store. Epic says that Apple’s requirement that all mobile apps come through its App Store (and the 30 percent commission Apple charges for app sales and in-app purchases) is a monopoly, and that Epic — as well as its fellow developers and their customers — should have alternatives. Fortnite’s Apple user base is the newest casualty in a years-long antitrust battle between developers and one of the world’s richest companies.Epic Games sued Apple in mid-August, claiming that the company’s App Store practices violate the Sherman Act. But this struggle is bigger than one update, one game, or even one company.
Fortnite Book Download Of ItsFor its part, Apple has said that Fortnite will be allowed back into the App Store if and when it follows the store’s terms and conditions.As Recode’s Peter Kafka explained, apps on Apple mobile devices have to go through the company’s App Store, which charges a 30 percent commission for app purchases as well as any purchases made within the app itself. It also means they can only play other Apple users who are also stuck in Season 3, as the rest of the Fortnite community update to the new season. So the game remains banned, leaving iOS and macOS players unable to update their apps to the just-released Season 4. The outcome of all this could significantly change the app ecosystem Apple helped create, possibly to developers’ and consumers’ benefits. And this is surely only the beginning of a protracted legal battle. And now Apple is firing back with a lawsuit of its own.At a hearing scheduled for September 28, a judge will decide whether or not Epic will get a preliminary injunction that will force Apple to let Fortnite back into the App Store. Epic responded with a lawsuit, joining an ever-louder chorus of developers and legislators who have accused the App Store of monopolistic practices, given its total control over the apps offered on its devices. When Epic attempted to get around this by offering customers the option of purchasing Fortnite currency directly from Epic at a discount, Apple kicked Fortnite out of the store for violating its terms of service. Mac cursor for windows downloadIn return, Apple would get a rapidly expanding roster of apps to offer its consumers and a steady stream of cash from commissions it took off the purchase price of paid apps as well as in-app purchases. Developers would have easy access to Apple users as well as tools to create and sell the apps they made — all of which was especially good for small developers that didn’t have the resources to do so otherwise. The App Store can be mutually beneficial to Apple and app developersWhen the App Store launched on iPhones in 2008, it was pitched as a win-win. For years, developers have complained about this, but they’ve had little recourse. App developers, therefore, have to agree to them or else lose their access to hundreds of millions of potential customers. The App Store now offers millions of apps, and Apple says that in 2019 alone it generated more than $500 billion, most of which was not subject to the 30 percent commission Apple takes off in-app purchases and paid apps.Because the App Store is the only way consumers can get apps on their iOS devices, Apple has been able to make whatever rules and set whatever prices it wants around all app purchases. The company even refused to offer Fortnite in Google’s Play store until April 2020, but because Android doesn’t force users to get apps through that store, Android users could still get the game. Apple may also decide to change its App Store policies to avoid more lawsuits and payouts.As for Epic, it has long been a critic of app store commissions in general. If Apple loses the lawsuit — or decides to settle — the company could be on the hook for a massive payout to millions of App Store customers. This is after the Supreme Court ruling in May 2019 gave the green light to a class-action lawsuit from iPhone owners accusing Apple’s App Store of violating antitrust laws. A few months after Spotify’s complaint in June 2019, American developers sued Apple, saying its rules and the lack of an app store alternative gave the company an unfair monopoly and drove up prices. The social media giant framed this as a way to help businesses struggling during the Covid-19 pandemic, and as a result, Apple’s refusal to waive the fee could be seen as harmful to those businesses. Facebook is urging Apple to temporarily waive its commission, as Facebook is waiving its own commissions on the new feature for a year, giving any and all paid events proceeds to the pages that offer them. It’s also mobilized its user base on social media, releasing a cheeky video and encouraging its users to share the hashtag #FreeFortnite.Following the Epic lawsuit, Facebook — which has its own antitrust issues — jumped on the bandwagon, claiming that the Apple tax will harm the pages and businesses using Facebook’s new paid events feature. Epic responded by suing both companies. Both companies responded by banning Fortnite. According to the Wall Street Journal, the game has been downloaded on more than 130 million Apple devices and generated $1.2 billion in App Store spending — a tidy sum for Epic and Apple, but apparently not enough for Epic.On August 13, Epic basically dared Apple and Google to ban Fortnite from their stores by offering users the option to purchase virtual currency from Epic within the app, violating both companies’ rules. That may have been true in 2008 when the App Store launched with a few hundred apps, but Apple now makes billions from App Store commissions every year.Apple also maintains that the vast majority of App Store apps are free, which means most of the apps benefit from the App Store ecosystem while giving Apple nothing in return. Back when the App Store was introduced, then-CEO Steve Jobs said the 30 percent commission was needed to “pay for running the store,” and that Apple didn’t “intend to make any money” from it. This includes peace of mind, as requiring consumers to download apps directly from the App Store helps the company ensure they meet certain standards and are secure — which is especially important when it comes to things like credit card information.The origins of the 30 percent cut are from the cut that Apple took from iTunes sales — between 30 and 40 percent per track. You can still play Season 3, but your opponents will be limited to fellow Apple players. What this means for customersSo, what does this all mean for you, the Apple App Store customer? Right now, it means you can’t download Fortnite or, if you already have it, you can’t download updates — which means you can’t play the new Season 4. But this ignores the fact that the industry was created by Apple in the first place and that other app stores followed its lead when setting their own commissions. Apple has also pointed out in a recent study it commissioned that its commission is on par with the rest of the industry.
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