{"id":42180,"date":"2024-02-20T14:48:49","date_gmt":"2024-02-20T19:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=42180"},"modified":"2024-03-14T15:33:24","modified_gmt":"2024-03-14T19:33:24","slug":"epic-gets-new-developer-account","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2024\/02\/20\/epic-gets-new-developer-account\/","title":{"rendered":"Epic Gets New Developer Account"},"content":{"rendered":"

Juli Clover<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Epic Games today announced plans<\/a> to bring the Epic Games Store to iOS in the European Union, with Apple reinstating the company’s developer account.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

The Epic Games Store will launch on iOS in the EU at some point in 2024, and it will provide a way for Epic Games to bring a Fortnite app to iOS once again.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

While working to implement the Epic Games Store on iOS, Epic also plans to continue to “argue to the courts and regulators that Apple is breaking the law.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Tim Sweeney<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I’ll be the first to acknowledge a good faith move by Apple amidst our cataclysmic antitrust battle, in granting Epic Games Sweden AB a developer account for operating Epic Games Store and Fortnite in Europe under the Digital Markets Act.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

It sounds like their developer account was not<\/em> reinstated, but rather they got a new account for a different legal entity that operates in Europe. It does not sound like they will be using this account to bring back Fortnite for Mac.<\/p>\n\n

Tim Sweeney<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

We never understood why Apple killed Fortnite for Mac. Fortnite was never on the Mac App Store and broke no Mac App Store rules. Perhaps someday Apple will explain why they killed Fortnite for iOS while not enforcing the same rules against Facebook, Roblox, and others.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Recall that the account used for the Mac version of Fortnite was associated with the separate Epic International entity that did not violate the App Store guidelines.<\/p>\n\n

John Gruber<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Apple plays hardball, for sure. And Apple has a long institutional memory and knows how to hold a grudge. But Apple is not a spiteful company. Apple likes its corporate nose right where it is — on its face. They play hardball strategically — to their own advantage first, to their users’ advantage second. That’s something Apple’s most vehement critics just don’t get. Setting up Epic to be a winner under their DMA compliance also sets Apple<\/em> up to be a winner.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

It does seem spiteful that Apple didn’t restore Epic’s main developer account, or the Unreal Engine account, even after publicly stating that they would do so. Epic had wanted to bring back Fortnite in South Korea after the Telecommunications Business Act required Apple to allow external purchases there.<\/p>\n\n

\n

It would be quite the public relations coup for Apple to get Epic and Tim Sweeney on their side. And game stores in particular seem like a perfect fit for Apple’s marketplaces, because games primarily monetize by getting players to pay, not just be tracked to be shown ads. Strange times make for strange bedfellows.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n