Epic's Fortnite Ban And Apple/Google Legal Battle, Explained



This story was last updated on September 5 to incorporate new developments, including Epic Games filing a new injunction against Apple in an attempt to have Fortnite reinstate on the App Store.

Fortnite has been removed from the iOS App Store and Android's Google Play Store, prompting developer Epic Games to sue Apple and Google. This is huge news, both because of the potential disruption to one of the world's biggest games--Fortnite's new season won't be playable on iOS or Android as of now--and because of the fundamental way in which Epic is trying to disrupt how these mobile app stores operate. Below you can find a full explainer and rundown of everything we know so far. This will continue to receive updates as there are further developments.

What Happened to Fortnite on iOS And Android?
On August 13, Epic rolled out the Fortnite Mega Drop. This consisted of two components. First, the price of V-Bucks--Fortnite's in-game currency, used to buy its popular skins, dances, and seasonal battle passes--was dropped by 20% on all platforms. This was a straight discount on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, but in the versions of the game distributed through the iOS App Store and Google Play Store (there are other ways to get the game on Android), it worked a little differently.

As part of this price drop, Epic introduced direct payments in Fortnite on mobile. Rather than using Apple or Google's payment processing methods, you could pay Epic directly through the game, bypassing the phone manufacturers entirely. You could still pay the old way, but you'd be paying the existing, higher price by doing so.

Both Google and Apple take a 30% cut of those sales; they get nothing from players who utilize Epic's new direct payment method, which allows the developer to earn 100% of the sale price. Even though Epic is now selling V-Bucks for 20% less than it has previously, it still would be earning 10% more than it does by using Apple and Google's payment processing.

All of this set off alarm bells among observers--bypassing Apple and Google in such a way violates their respective store policies, so the question quickly became: Will these companies ban Fortnite from their stores? The answer was soon after revealed to be yes, with Apple pulling Fortnite from the App Store within a few hours. Google followed suit later in the day.

The moves by Apple and Google rendered it impossible to download Fortnite through their respective stores, but the game remained somewhat playable under certain circumstances. Those who have downloaded it previously can grab it again, but new players are out of luck. And if you have any doubt there are still new players to attract, know that "what is Fortnite" remains a popular search term on Google, and that the game's events continue to attract increasingly large numbers of players.

A Coordinated Rollout
It's clear that Epic knew exactly what would unfold once it launched direct payments. Almost the instant Fortnite was banned from the App Store, just before 3 PM ET, Epic announced a new short would soon be premiering in Fortnite Party Royale, the game's casual, no-weapons mode, which is where things like those Christopher Nolan movies were shown. At the time, it seemed like this could just be coincidental, although the name of the short was suspect: Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite.

At the same time as this was happening, Epic filed a lawsuit against Apple, alleging antitrust violations. (More on that below.) The entire filing contains some eye-opening language, and the opening of the preliminary statement in particular is designed to grab the attention of consumers.

In 1984, the fledgling Apple computer company released the Macintosh--the first mass-market, consumer-friendly home computer. The product launch was announced with a breathtaking advertisement evoking George Orwell's 1984 that cast Apple as a beneficial, revolutionary force breaking IBM's monopoly over the computing technology market. Apple's founder Steve Jobs introduced the first showing of the 1984 advertisement by explaining, “it appears IBM wants it all. Apple is perceived to be the only hope to offer IBM a run for its money . . . . Will Big Blue dominate the entire computer industry? The entire information age? Was George Orwell right about 1984?”

Fast forward to 2020, and Apple has become what it once railed against: the behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition, and stifle innovation. Apple is bigger, more powerful, more entrenched, and more pernicious than the monopolists of yesteryear. At a market cap of nearly $2 trillion, Apple's size and reach far exceeds that of any technology monopolist in history.

Epic feels as if it's arguing its case to the public as much as it is to the court, and that's only clearer when you look at the short that debuted in Fortnite.

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