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It has been a very busy past day for Fortnite. With the game implementing a new feature for direct payment, getting pulled from the Apple App Store, retaliating with a marketing push, and then getting pulled from the Google Play Store, the game is in a rather precarious position. On top of it all, Tim Sweeney has been very vocal about his dislike for Apple and Google’s business practices. It seems that Sweeney had been itching for a fight all along.
A brief overview of Fortnite vs. Apple and Google
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Long before Fortnite was pulled from any app store, Sweeney was a vocal critic of both Apple and Google. When Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook were all asked to testify in a case related to accusations of monopolistic business practices, Sweeney was one of the most prominent voices against them. So while this fight seems to have heated up quickly, it was always brewing just beneath the surface.
Sweeney seemed eager to strike the first blow against Apple and Google, and likely prepared Epic Games' response in advance of Fortnite implementing its own payment procedure. When Fortnite finally did, Sweeney and his team developed a marketing push around it to ensure that this new feature would get attention, and hopefully provoke a response from Apple.
Apple responds to Fortnite
The team needed to provoke Apple for this push to work, and provoke they did. Because the new payment option in Fortnite bypassed the Apple App Store, Fortnite was able to circumvent Apple’s 30% fee for transactions using its store. Apple claimed this was against its terms of service, and retaliated by pulling Fortnite from the store, but it seems like Epic was prepared for exactly this type of response.
Shortly after Apple’s actions, Epic launched another volley of targeted marketing, this time in the form of “Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite.” Fortnite has been airing the short film through its Party Royale venue, which parodies the famous 1984 Apple commercial, in addition to invoking the well-known story of an authoritarian government controlling its population through strict and restrictive rules.
By framing this as a fight over personal freedom and fair market practices, Epic is able to garner significant public support for its actions, something they might need in the fight against Apple and Google.
Final considerations
One thing to remember is that Epic, Apple, and Google are all businesses, and businesses don’t take actions that they don’t believe will result in more profit. Epic is only taking this fight on because they believe getting Apple and Google to lower their fees or having them be regulated by legislation will be beneficial for Epic and increase their profits. If this helps another developer along the way, the more useful that goal becomes.
Likewise, Apple and Google removed Fortnite because if they should fail to enforce their iron grip over their markets as with Epic, it would be harder to do so for every other developer or creator who sells through their stores. It is in their best interest to make an example of Fortnite so that they don’t have to fight as hard in the future.
Another thing to remember is that, under current rules, Apple and Google achieved their control through business practices which are currently legal, and so the debate isn’t whether they are criminal organizations but whether or not they should be regulated to protect the interests of those who have to work with them.
We'll have to wait and see what ends up happening next in this sordid affair between three veritable giants of industry.
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