Apple filings in Epic Games cases claim to have reduced industry fees, while third-party app stores would compromise privacy and security

Prior to its upcoming bench test with Epic Games, Apple submitted hundreds of pages of documents covering the results of the facts, which include some interesting and previously unknown information about the “Epic Games”.

PEpic Games‌ planned its rebellion against Apple for at least two years, before it opted for a blatant violation of the Apple Store App rules, with Apple Store “App Store” taxes at the center of the dispute. Epic is of the opinion that Apple should not pay a 30 percent discount to distribute apps on iOS devices, but court records show that Epic itself used to charge much higher fees.

In the 1990s, when Epic initially agreed to distribute games from other developers, it charged a 60% commission. According to Apple documents, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said at the time that the 60 percent fee that Epic collected was a “fairly favorable fee,” as most distributors charged 70% commissions.

Before digital distribution platforms such as the “App Store” existed, Sweeney commented that it is “so discouraging” to try to sell games through brick and mortar locations.

“You see, you are making a huge effort to develop a program. If you have to release it, then you practically double the effort, due to the necessary polishing and documentation. And if you’re not going to make any serious money from it, then it’s not worth it. “

According to Apple, the “App Store” “updated the status quo” and introduced a “system without marketing, distribution and transaction transactions” for both developers and users. Apple claimed that its model revolutionized payment for developers, who kept a 70% discount on the “App Store” instead of paying 70% to a distributor for typical retail sales.

In its filing, Apple said Epic’s high fees it charged were evidence that transactions negotiated before the “App Store” were well below the 30% discount it required, while informing the court of the the 15% reduced commission that small developers are now eligible for.

Although Epic CEO Tim Sweeney spent a lot of time maligning Apple on Twitter, he is a fan of Apple’s privacy practices. According to Apple’s lawsuit, Sweeney said he “considered Apple’s approach to privacy to be superior to Google’s approach to customer privacy and customer data” and that Apple is doing an “excellent job.”

Apple claims that the Epic process could have a direct impact on the security and privacy of the iPhone, because customer privacy is one of the reasons why Apple wants to monitor applications allowed on iOS devices. Apple plans to soon implement transparency rules for tracking applications that will limit the data that developers can collect from users. If alternative app stores were possible, there would be no rules about the information that could be obtained from ‌iPhone‌ users.

Apple believes that downloading iOS apps would create “unacceptable vulnerabilities” that could risk exposing customers to viruses and malware. At one point, Epic said it did not comply with Apple’s Enterprise certification policies to get apps on devices without an “App Store,” but Epic engineers had previously expressed concern about downloading apps on Android devices.

There have been a number of binary leaks for the Fortnite installer after Epic launched it on Android devices by sideloading in August 2018, which led to malware and fraud. And, as one programmer remarked on another occasion, “[o]Really a little worried about the security aspect of this, a lot of malware that is already doing the rounds mimicking the Fortnite application. ‘

The lawsuits contain some clear indications why ‌Epic Games‌ wants to reduce ‌App Store‌ fees – it doesn’t make money from the ‌Epic Gamesp store. Epic lost about $ 181 million in 2019 and is estimated to lose $ 273 million in 2020. Epic has committed $ 444 million in minimum guarantees to developers, but earned only $ 401 million. Epic said it will lose about $ 139 million in 2021, but Sweeney said it is an investment in business development.

Apple claims that Epic is financing the “Epic Games” store through other parts of its business, such as Fortnite, which are more profitable.

There are more details about how ‌Epic Games‌ planned its attack on Apple and Google, which can be found in the court file embedded below. We are also sure that we will hear additional information when the two companies meet in court on May 3.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and several other Apple executives will testify, as will Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney and Facebook and Microsoft executives. Former Apple executive Scott Forstall will also be called as an Epic witness.