Apple has blocked Fortnite maker Epic Games from launching its own iOS store in the EU.

apple His quarrel with Epic Games On Wednesday, Block Fortnite The video game maker is launching its online marketplace on iPhones and iPads in Europe.

The two companies have been in a legal battle since 2020, when the gaming firm alleged that Apple charged a 30 percent commission on in-app payments on its iPhone operating system (iOS) instruments violated US antitrust laws.

The latest challenge from Epic comes as Apple struggles with concerns about strong demand for its iPhones in China, and its stock has fallen 12 percent so far this year, as the U.S. Its shares were largely unchanged on Wednesday, underperforming their big tech peers.

Efforts by regulators and rivals like Epic to pave the way for rival markets on Apple’s devices pose a major threat to the Silicon Valley heavyweight’s profits and control of its own ecosystem.

European lawmakers are forcing Apple to allow these third-party marketplaces with a law called the Digital Markets Act.DMA) which is effective this week.

Also, antitrust regulators in Brussels on Monday fined Apple 1.84 billion euros ($2 billion or about Rs 16,547 crore) for thwarting competition from music streaming rivals through restrictions on its App Store, which That is Apple’s first fine for violating EU laws.

Epic had been working to leverage DMA, but Apple halted those efforts on Wednesday, citing Epic’s past contract violations in a long-running legal dispute.

Apple shuts down a new developer account that Epic created in Sweden. Epic created the account in an effort to bring Fortnite and other games back to iPhones in Europe by running its own game store on Apple devices. Apple will have to allow third-party stores on its devices under a new European law.

Developer accounts are important because software creators can’t distribute apps to iPhones and iPads without one. Apple previously terminated some of Epic’s developer accounts in 2020, after Epic intentionally broke Apple’s in-app payment rules, violating its rules and resulting in removal from the App Store. The move was used as the core of a public relations and legal campaign against Apple.

Apple said on Wednesday that court rulings made clear that it has “full discretion” to terminate any Epic Games developer account in light of “serious” violations of the company’s developer agreements.

“In light of Epic’s past and ongoing behavior, Apple has chosen to exercise this right to terminate an Epic Games account,” Apple said.

Epic alleged that by terminating its account, Apple was removing one of the biggest potential competitors to the Apple App Store.

“This is a serious violation of the DMA and shows that Apple has no intention of allowing real competition on iOS devices,” Epic Games said.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Apple in January proposed some changes ahead of a March 7 deadline to comply with some terms of the DMA, a piece of legislation intended to make it easier for European consumers to switch between competing services.

The company said it will allow opt-outs from using alternative app stores and in-app payments systems on iPhones, but for developers signing up for new ones of 50 euro cents per user account per year. Core Technology Fee” will be fixed. Government.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

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