Fortnite CEO Tim Sweeney reveals why Epic Games took Apple to Court

A few days ago, we saw Fortnite removed from Apple and Google’s app stores for the time being. This was in response to the alternate payment system that Epic had set up for Fortnite users. As Google and Apple both levy a high fee of around 30% on each transaction on their platforms, fans were given an opportunity to save around 20% of their money.

For example, by using the normal app store related payment method, Fortnite users could buy a 1000 V-bucks for around $9.99. However, by using the direct payment method Fortnite players could get the same for $7.99.

Image Credits: Hollywoodreporter

Now, Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney has posted a tweet revealing exactly why his company has decided to take Apple to Court.

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Tim Sweeney alleges Epic is taking Apple to court for smartphone owners' 'freedom'

In the lawsuit the company has since filed, Epic said that other payment companies such as PayPal and Stripe levy a fee of around 3%. Further, Epic does not seem concerned about getting a compensation, and merely wants Apple to stop their ‘Anti-competitive practices’ and allow fair competition on their platform. Of course, that is in addition to letting Fortnite exist on their platform.

Image Credits: bbc.co.uk

Additionally, we talked about Tim Sweeney’s recent interview when he declared Apple to be the ‘most manipulative business’ in the world. He explained that the charging of such high fee on transactions would have made sense if the platform itself allowed free and fair competition. However, that is not the case.

Moreover, the fact that Apple does not allow its customers to use any other platform for their software related purchases was also considered problematic by Sweeney. Now, he further illustrated his point via the following tweet.

At the most basic level, we’re fighting for the freedom of people who bought smartphones to install apps from sources of their choosing, the freedom for creators of apps to distribute them as they choose, and the freedom of both groups to do business directly.

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) August 14, 2020

Tim Sweeney believes that Epic is filing a lawsuit against Apple to protect public freedom to choose the sources they want to download apps from, along with the freedom of creators to distribute their apps as they choose.

Image Credits: Tim Sweeney, Twitter.com

He also explains that this is not just a Billion dollar company fighting a trillion dollar one. Sweeney asserts that Epic is not fighting to get a better deal, but to ensure that all consumers and developers of apps get their basic freedoms.

Finally, Sweeney also said that fighting for one’s hard earned money is the right thing to do, and middlemen like Apple does not allow your money to be used for further development of the game. This was part of the reason why they introduced the alternate payment system for Fortnite players.

Image credits: Tim Sweeney, twitter.com