The Fortnite phenomenon hampered by Apple

The Fortnite phenomenon is igniting the planet. The fourth season of the video game published by Epic Games has been available since Thursday and fulfills the expectations of 350 million players across the planet. But unfortunately not all fans will be able to access this new season. Because its publisher, Epic Games, confirmed Wednesday evening that it will not deliver the new component - based on the theme of Marvel superheroes - on Apple iPhone, iPad and Mac devices. Players will therefore be deprived of Iron Man, Wolverine, Thor or Dr Doom, and will remain stuck in the previous version of the video game.

Epic Games vs. Apple

This exclusion is the consequence of the conflict between Epic Games and Apple. For years, the first criticizes the 30% commission that the second deducts on purchases made in his app store.

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This tax represents a significant source of income for Apple, whose App Store generated $ 61 billion in 2019. Developers have no choice but to comply with the rules of the California giant, which prevents its users from '' install software that it has not validated beforehand. A behavior described as “tyrannical” by Epic Games and several other companies including Spotify and Match Group, the publisher of Tinder. Three weeks ago, this dispute took a radical turn, when the creator of Fortnite offered a discount to its players if they made their purchases without going through the App Store.

I see my friends having fun as I'm stuck in a season that I got tired of

Ineligible for Apple, which immediately removed the video game from its application store. A reaction expected by Epic Games, which filed a complaint for abuse of a dominant position and anti-competitive practices. "Apple has become what it once cursed against: the monster that wants to control the markets, block competition and stifle innovation," accuses Epic Games. At the same time, the company is rallying its community of players with a carefully prepared communication campaign. For its part, Apple does not budge: Fortnite will remain excluded from its App Store as long as it does not respect the rules. "After deciding that he would prefer to enjoy the benefits of the App Store without paying, Epic violated its contracts with Apple, using its own customers and Apple customers as leverage," criticizes the company.

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To force Epic Games to back down, Apple is also threatening to block Unreal Engine, a graphics engine used by multiple video game developers, including the very popular PUBG and Mortal Kombat. But on Monday, August 24, a US court ruled that Apple must continue to support Unreal Engine to prevent its battle with Epic Games from having consequences for other developers.

A real schism

On the other hand, she believes that the company is within its rights to ban Fortnite , whose new season will therefore remain inaccessible to players until their conflict is resolved. Until now, the consequences of this fight remained limited since those who had already installed Fortnite could still enjoy it. But that changes with the arrival of the new season of the game, which is causing a real schism by preventing players in the Apple ecosystem from playing with others.

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Much to the regret of 15-year-old Nacim who is playing Fortnite on a Mac computer. He considers himself the victim of a war between Epic Games and Apple. "I see my friends having fun while I'm stuck in a season that I got tired of" , laments the young man. He may wait a while before joining them since the legal battle between the two companies has only just begun: a first hearing is due to be held on September 28.