In an extensive interview with CNN BusinessTim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, says his company spent months preparing its lawsuit against Apple, which is internally called “Project Liberty.”
/article-new/2020/08/fortnite_apple_featured.jpg?resize=560%2C315&ssl=1)
Epic launched a total attack against Apple after removing Fortnite from the App Store in August, after the app implemented a direct payment method for in-app purchases. The App Store policy requires all apps to use their own in-app purchases system, which gives Apple a 30% commission on all purchases made. Epic’s refusal to comply with the policy led to the rejection of the application on the platform.
Sweeney says in his interview that Epic “spent months” developing and preparing its lawsuit against Apple, which was launched and publicly announced within hours of Fortnite’s removal from the “App Store.”
Internally, Epic calls the process the “Freedom Project,” clearly reflecting the idea that the process is meant to further open Apple platforms to smaller developers, giving them “freedom.” Despite the fact that the process focuses on the 30% commission policy of the “App Store”, Sweeney says that it comes down to the idea that he believes that open platforms are “the key to free markets and the future of the computer”.
Developers have questioned whether the 30% commission is a fair price that developers will pay back to Apple, given, for example, that pEpic Games won $ 1.3 billion from Fortnite acquisitions in the game in 2020 .
PEpic Games had a valuation of $ 17.3 billion at the end of last year, and financially, Sweeney says that Epic has “financial independence” to take action against Apple and Google, largely due to the fact that Epic Games Games is not a publicly listed company.
When pressured for details about the cost of the Epic lawsuit against his Apple lawsuit, Sweeney declined to answer, simply saying it was “a lot and a lot” of time for the company’s management. However, it’s clear that with millions of Apple users unable to play Fortnite on their devices, the company is likely facing a financial battle, given that iOS users have generated revenue of more than $ 1.2 billion for Epic. when launched on the platform, according to Tower Data Sensor quoted by CNN Business.
All in all, however, Sweeney says the fights are worth it because of fears that the future of platforms like the “App Store” will be completely dominated by owners of platforms like Apple and no other developers.
“[The companies] it will only do this industry by industry and application category by application category until they swallow everything that matters. And who will stay? “One million independent developers who make a small percentage of the revenue from the app store together because these companies are too small to be attractive to steal,” said Sweeney.
Finally, Sweeney addresses the controversial comments he made in November in which he stated that the fight for civil rights and Epic’s fight for the “freedom” platform are similar. The comments provoked widespread reactions, and in response, Sweeney says he believes it is “perfectly healthy” to create similarities between “the vital causes of world history” and the struggle on application platforms.
“The point is, if you really want to make a difference, you have to get rid of the system,” Sweeney said in response to criticism. “I think we can learn a lot from any of the battles of the past in humanity, and I think it’s perfectly healthy to apply battles for vital causes in the history of the world to battles for smaller issues, such as software platforms.”
Most recently, Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple in the UK, claiming that Apple’s removal of Fortnite from the “App Store” was “illegal” and called for the application to be restored. The UK’s complaint followed the Epic agreements in the United States and Australia. In all countries, Epic says it does not seek compensation from Apple and is simply looking for “fair access and competition that benefits all consumers.” Both companies are preparing to face off in court in July this year.