Apple claims Epic requested for special treatment

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Apple has finally responded to Epic's lawsuit with claims that the gaming giant requested special treatment on multiple occasions. The company produced three emails from Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, marking Apple's first legal response against Epic since their dispute spilled into courts. The claim that Epic sought a "special deal" was something Sweeney refuted earlier this month, saying they are "fighting for open platforms and policy changes equally benefiting all developers." 

But Apple's filing on Friday disputes this point. "On June 30, 2020, Epic's CEO Tim Sweeney wrote my colleagues and me an email asking for a 'side letter' from Apple that would create a special deal for only Epic that would fundamentally change the way in which Epic offers apps on Apple's iOS platform," Phil Schiller, former Apple Senior Vice President and now Apple Fellow, said.

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Apple 'won't make an exception' for Epic Games as legal dispute rages on

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Apple responds to Epic's latest claims in its ongoing dispute, saying it "won't make an exception" for the company because "we don't think it's right to put their business interests ahead of the guidelines that protect our customers." Epic filed a preliminary injunction against Apple, asking the courts to stop the company from taking it off its developer program. The developer says Apple has given them until August 28 to take out the rule-violating payment processing option Epic snuck into Fortnite. 

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Epic Games says Apple plans to revoke its developer account

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In the ongoing battle between Epic Games and Apple, the developer said that Apple has threatened to cut it out of the App Store entirely by revoking its developer account. The move will mean Epic can no longer make apps for Apple, which means it will lose access to iOS users. According to the developer, Apple has given Epic until August 28 before it removes its developer accounts, which also means they can't publish updates to current apps on the store. 

On top of that, Epic makes the Unreal Engine software that many iPhone and Android games use to add realistic graphics and physics to their titles. The company seeks an injunction to "preserve the status quo" and allow Epic to continue to sell apps, including Fortnite, on the Apple App Store. Epic claims Apple's move to revoke its accounts represents an "existential threat" to Unreal Engine, and that the company is "attacking Epic's entire business in unrelated areas."

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Google reportedly prevented OnePlus from preinstalling the Epic Games app on its devices

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Epic Games just launched a lawsuit against Google and Apple, claiming the companies are engaging in anti-competitive behaviour. For Google's part, the lawsuit focuses on how Google makes it more challenging to sideload applications than installing them from the Play Store. A surprising claim in the filing describes how Google reportedly stopped OnePlus from preloading the Epic Games app.

Fortnite uses a launcher app called Epic Games to release updates for it when it's installed from the Samsung Galaxy Store or Epic's site. According to the developer, it struck a deal with OnePlus to preload the app on new devices, but Google struck down the agreement. Epic Games even reportedly designed a version of Fortnite for some OnePlus devices to take advantage of the state-of-the-art framerate. The deal was supposed to cover a worldwide release, but Google supposedly only allowed OnePlus to release the app in India.

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