Epic Games Accuses Apple of Trying to 'Blacklist' Fortnite From iOS App Store

Apple intends to “blacklist” Fortnite from the iOS App Store until the court case between Cupertino and Epic Games reaches a final judgement, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney says.

In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Sweeney revealed his company last week tried to resubmit Fortnite to the App Store amid Epic Games' heated antitrust battle over Apple’s strict control of the iOS ecosystem. 

According to Sweeney, Apple denied the request. As proof, he tweeted a screenshot of Cupertino’s denial letter to Epic Games. “Furthermore, Apple will not consider any further request for reinstatement until the district court’s judgement becomes final and unappealable,” it says. 

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The denial comes after Epic Games filed an appeal to this month’s US court ruling, which found that Apple was not guilty of running a monopoly through the iOS App Store. Instead, Apple must allow iOS apps to include a link or button redirecting users to a third-party payment system. 

Epic Games’ appeal will no doubt demand the court force Apple to reinstate Fortnite to the iOS ecosystem. But in his tweets, Sweeney notes the appeals process could last up to five years before a final decision is made. 

The denial has prompted Sweeney to slam Apple in a series of follow-up tweets. “This is another extraordinary anticompetitive move by Apple, demonstrating their power to reshape markets and choose winners and losers,” he writes.

In addition, Sweeney claims Apple lied when the company said it would welcome Epic Games back to iOS App Store if the company played by the rules. “Epic agreed, and now Apple has reneged in another abuse of its monopoly power over a billion users,” Sweeney alleges. 

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Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, the company seems to be concerned Epic Games will find ways to break iOS App Store rules again if Fortnite is permitted to return, especially as Sweeney himself has pledged to "fight on."

Apple’s denial letter to the company notes “Epic’s duplicitous conduct in the past.” This is a reference to how Epic added a direct payment option in Fortnite last year to bypass iOS App Store rules, which require developers to hand over a 15% to 30% cut of all in-app sales to Apple. The US court later ruled Epic Games breached its contract with Cupertino by doing so, and had to pay a $6 million penalty.

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“Following that decision, Mr. Sweeney has publicly said that Epic ‘[w]ouldn’t trade [an alternative payment system] away to get Fortnite back on iOS,’” Apple’s denial letter adds. “In light of this and other statements since the court’s decision, coupled with Epic’s duplicitous conduct in the past, Apple has exercised its discretion not to reinstate Epic’s developer program account at this time.”

A tweet from Sweeney also shows Epic Games may have tried to demand vague conditions from Apple when bringing back Fortnite to the iOS App Store. On Wednesday, Sweeney shared a separate screenshot of the email his company sent to Cupertino concerning Fortnite's return.

“Epic will submit Fortnite to the App Store if you adhere to the plain language of the court order and allow apps to include buttons and external links that direct customers to other purchasing mechanisms without onerous terms or impediments to a good user experience,” the email notes. "In that case, our remaining dispute will be about competing stores."

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to say Epic Games paid Apple $6 million to settle the court-imposed penalty.