Nothing has been decided, and months of deliberations are still ahead, but Epic Games is taking a premature victory lap and rereleasing “Fortnite” globally (except Australia).
If you only listened to Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, you’d think the Epic versus Apple trial was already decided. In yet another marketing-style push, Epic is attempting to sway legislators around the world with a flashy ad campaign.
A press release and a new social media ad from Epic Games are promoting the return of Fortnite to the App Store globally, well, at least outside of Australia. The ad is an obvious homage to Apple’s iPod campaign featuring silhouettes and headphone cables.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Epic and Sweeney declare an unfounded victory. Heck, even the 1984 parody ad released at the start of this debacle seemed to suggest Apple had already lost.
The move is yet another from the fairly straightforward Epic Games playbook. Perform a major stunt, release an in-game skin, and push players of the game to protest Apple’s control of the App Store.
Bold strategy considering it didn’t work the first time around.
Nowhere near a win or an end
Epic lost on nearly every count of its lawsuit against Apple, except one. And the case it is still in the middle of is a continued argument around that verdict.
The courts have ruled that Apple is owed a commission, and over the coming months, Apple and Epic will have to argue over what’s truly fair. Epic will want it to be as close to $0 as possible while Apple will likely stick to its 27% or 12% it rolled out the first time.
Meanwhile, Apple is challenging an injunction violation charge in the Epic case in the Supreme Court. There is a chance that the entire thing is thrown out, and Apple gets to keep its 27% or 12% commission without a fight.
In Australia, Apple has established new rules to comply with the local ruling, but Epic says they are illegal. That’s why Australia is not a part of this premature victory lap.
Yet somehow, Sweeney believes Epic has already won one, not just in the United States, but globally. All because of a single statement Apple made.
“Regulators around the world are watching this case to determine what commission rate Apple may charge on covered purchases in huge markets outside the United States.”
That’s absolutely true, and the results will likely be echoed around the world. However, it means almost nothing without a verdict.
Epic hypocrisy
Epic’s PR suggests that governments around the world haven’t been enforcing the law and allowing Apple to run wild with its commission rates. It states that Epic will “challenge Apple’s anticompetitive App Store practices of banning alternative app stores and competition in payments.”
Epic wants to paint itself as the hero when it desperately wants to be Apple instead
Meanwhile, Epic charges a similar 12% commission rate for video game sales and in-game purchases. The only difference between it and Apple is that it allows third-party payment platforms for in-game transactions without a fee.
Apple charges a commission for an app purchase, in-app purchase, or any transaction that takes place from an external link in an app for digital goods. However, due to the injunction violation in the United States, Apple hasn’t been able to charge anything for external purchases in the year since.
Epic takes the position of protecting the little guys and fighting for everyone, even though it is clear they only fight for themselves. If anything is apparent from companies like Epic, Spotify, and others that spend billions in litigation, they want a free ride on Apple’s platforms.
If Epic truly had its way, it could operate an entire app store for free on iPhone while charging its own commission rates. Of course, no regulatory body would ever allow such a thing.
Apple built the iPhone and the App Store marketplace. Regardless of Epic’s assertions, courts around the world have repeatedly asserted that Apple is owed something for distributing apps.
I still believe this whole situation could be solved a lot faster if Apple quietly announced a full commission revision that met in the middle. There will never be a situation where everyone is happy, especially not Epic, but Apple could easily get its money and appease regulators if it chose to.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
