Epic's Tim Sweeney outlines his case against Apple in a Twitter thread

[Redaktion]

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has posted a thread on Twitter outlining some of the basic thoughts behind the company's lawsuit against Apple, in particular. At its core, Sweeney's argument is that Apple's approach to the App Store fundamentally undermines both consumer rights and the rights of developers.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Epic-s-Tim-Sweeney-outlines-his-case-against-Apple-in-a-Twitter-thread.486935.0.html

[opelit]

Let be honest 30% fee and paying $99 if you want to be developer for Apple (even for free apps) is robbery. It's not about the freedom to publish where a dev want, but about these s*** fees. Apple do nothing and they want 30%??

[t4n0n]

About time someone challenged the tech giants over this.

Good luck to Tim Sweeney and Epic, hopefully they can break the OS-AppStore monolithopolies that Google and Apple have created.

[t4n0n]

Let be honest 30% fee and paying $99 if you want to be developer for Apple (even for free apps) is robbery. It's not about the freedom to publish where a dev want, but about these s*** fees. Apple do nothing and they want 30%??

They would argue, presumably, that they created the platforms from which developers created, marketed and sold their apps.

This is, of course, ignoring the enormous hypocrisy that companies like Apple and Google have benefited immensely from the platforms created by Open Source and Free software and never paid a dime for it.

[john15082020]

I never had an Apple product and probably never will. On the other hand I am full of free games from Epic store.

Having said that, here Epic is wrong. You can't ask for the freedom to do business as you please in someone else's store. It's not your store. You didn't created it, you didn't advertise it, you didn't promote it, evolve it, support it. You don;t pay the stuff working in that store. And it's not yours to impose what you might advertise as freedom and rights.

Also at least on Android someone can install apps from other sources, outside of Google Play. Epic can create their own store and sell their games from there. They can keep selling through Google Play and just have 30% cheaper prices at their store. If Google forces on users the usage of Google Play, then yes. You can say there that Epic does have a point. I don't know what is going on on iOS, but I guess Apple Store is not the only way to install apps.

[heffeque]

I never had an Apple product and probably never will. On the other hand I am full of free games from Epic store.

Having said that, here Epic is wrong. You can't ask for the freedom to do business as you please in someone else's store. It's not your store. You didn't created it, you didn't advertise it, you didn't promote it, evolve it, support it. You don;t pay the stuff working in that store. And it's not yours to impose what you might advertise as freedom and rights.

Also at least on Android someone can install apps from other sources, outside of Google Play. Epic can create their own store and sell their games from there. They can keep selling through Google Play and just have 30% cheaper prices at their store. If Google forces on users the usage of Google Play, then yes. You can say there that Epic does have a point. I don't know what is going on on iOS, but I guess Apple Store is not the only way to install apps.

Your statement would make sense if it were possible to install 3rd party apps out of Apple Store without breaking the warranty (through jailbreak), but you are 100% wrong.

[Crowl]

While the size of the margin that the likes of Apple, Google etc. get from sales on the appstores might be considered excessive, it all seems rather disingenuous of Sweeney to try and portray it as about freedom when it is purely about epic not wanting to share all that fortnite money with the platform holders, despite his eagerness to take advantage of the size of those markets that the companies have built up.

If he wants to portray it as being about freedom, should we then expect him to allow anyone to make and sell skins for fortnite without epic getting a cut from them too?

[Watzupken]

30% cut from Developers is steep, I get that and I agree. But think why would EPIC want to sell on Android and iOS in the first place? Isn't it because it opens up for more opportunities for them to sell their wares? If so, by not paying some to the owner that allows them to sell their wares is not right in my opinion. EPIC is just using words like "options" and "freedom" to justify their wrongdoing. At the end of the day, it's more to maximise their own profit by not sharing. In this case, they try to game the system and breached the terms and agreement with Apple and Google respectively. Instead of trying to negotiate for a compromise, they went on to sue the companies for kicking them out. I am not with EPIC on this one whatever they say.

[madatcha]

The point is not about the 30% fee in general its more about the inapp purchase. So as a developer you make an app and put it in the store for sale. Customers buy and the app store takes 30% cut of the deal ok that seems reasnable for using there store, but what is not reasnable is if your product has online currency or items for sale through the app, thats when apple or google demand 30% for the in app purchase. So they want all the pie and eat it. While both company can make similar product and sell it themselves, without the 30% loss. That is the real problem for developers

[JoeBlack]

I am gonna say: Using 10yo Fortnite players as a mob with pitchforks is certainly an interesting "solution".
I am not sure if I feel more pity for Apple for what is yet to come (it certainly won't be civil) or for the 10yo crowd when they find out they are being used.
I am not on the Apple site in the slightest, take it as a unbiased, amused point of view.

[...]

Let be honest 30% fee and paying $99 if you want to be developer for Apple (even for free apps) is robbery. It's not about the freedom to publish where a dev want, but about these s*** fees. Apple do nothing and they want 30%??

Apple does nothing? Who then makes IOS, macOS, Xcode and all programming SDKs, Swift, App Store, App hosting and distribution to million people?

Fortnite and Unreal Engine are nothing compared to that.

[Robert King]

One would almost applaud Sweeney's efforts to protect freedom and customer rights, if not for the tiiiinnyy issues with abusing micro-transactions, Epic-store "exclusives",  tax manipulation etc... If Epic is unhappy with Apple's policies, they should take them to court. Using children and now blackmailing Indie developers (via Unreal Engine) in order to put pressure on Apple is definitely not cool.