Where's Fortnite gone?
- Control Gaming
- Aug 14, 2020
- 3 min read
*UPDATED 14/08/2020 3:41pm AEST, to include information about Epic lodging documents to sue Google and to attach suit documents filed against Apple Inc.*
As if 2020 didn’t have enough ‘interesting’ and ‘world ending’ stuff going on, apparently the digital landscape needs a good scare for it’s denizens.
Apple has actually removed Fortnite from the iOS App Store. Why? because apparently Epic Games has violated its guidelines.
For those that don’t know, all in-app transactions end up paying Apple a 30 percent fee – This is similar on the Google Play Store. It seems that to get around this. Epic Games added a new in-game payment system that entirely circumvents that nasty marketplace fee. Interestingly enough, they even lowered the price on their v-bucks bundles – basically pushing the savings on to their consumers.
Now, Apple has made it clear in the past that these rules are in place as a way to keep its store safe for its users – and as a response to what Epic has done, they have offered a statement to The Verge claiming Epic did this “with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services.”
It’s a sticky situation, and it does make me wonder – will Google follow suit? Surely they have similar policies?
So, Fortnite is now missing from both major players in the mobile gaming sphere. However, Epic actually offers an alternative (somewhat shaky) method for installing on Android devices, so the Android dudes out there are still able to get their Victory Royales.
Epic seems to have a very careful set of responses to deal with this situation, going so far as to suggest that the issue is a matter of antitrust:
Yeah, I had to double check the definition to make sure I fully understood it – and arguably the ‘closed platform’ nature of the iOS device family doesn’t do much to dissuade people that it is, indeed, a monopoly.
So at this point, the focus may be shifting away from HOW CAN I PLAY FORTNITE RIGHT NOW, and possibly a little more ‘Is Apple a bit tyrannical.’
It will be interesting to watch it unravel – in the meantime, here is a piece of Fortnite marketing that sends a very pointed message: #freefortnite
Epic Games has filed suit against Google over alledged antitrust violations, just hours after seeing Fortnite dropped from both, Google Play Store and The iOS App Store, and filing a similar lawsuit against Apple (read above). Epic's complaint alleges that Google's payment restrictions on the Play Store constitute a monopoly, and thus a violation of both the Sherman Act and California's Cartwright Act.
The two primary charges are identical to Epic's suit against Apple; monopoly control over the distribution of software to phones, and monopoly control over payment systems within that software. In Google's case, Epic is specifically concerned about the Google Play Store's powerful role as a distributer of Android app's, and the Play Store's requirement that hosted apps use Play Store Billing for any in-app purchases.
That case is more difficult to level against Google, which controls Android software less strictly than Apple does for iOS. Android has long allowed for the installation of third party app stores, including Epic’s own Epic Games App. Apps can also be sideloaded through direct links, without the involvement of an app store.
For years, Fortnite for Android was primarily available through this kind of sideloading. The app finally arrived on the Google Play Store in April, overcoming longstanding concerns over the Play Store policy of taking 30 percent of all in-app purchases. “After 18 months of operating Fortnite on Android outside of the Google Play Store, we’ve come to a basic realization,” the company said at the time, “Google puts software downloadable outside of Google Play at a disadvantage.”
Thursday’s lawsuit makes a similar case, arguing that Google has established the Play Store as the only viable distribution method for Android apps. “Notwithstanding its promises to make Android devices open to competition, Google has erected contractual and technological barriers that foreclose competing ways of distributing apps to Android users, ensuring that the Google Play Store accounts for nearly all the downloads of apps from app stores on Android devices.”
Reached for comment, Google emphasized that Fortnite had been removed from the Play Store for violating clear and pre-established rules. “For game developers who choose to use the Play Store, we have consistent policies that are fair to developers and keep the store safe for users,” a representative said. “While Fortnite remains available on Android, we can no longer make it available on Play because it violates our policies. However, we welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions with Epic and bring Fortnite back to Google Play.”
Read Epic Game's suit filed against Apple here:
They sound like an epic team... pardon the pun.