It is a well-known fact that Epic Games is not happy with the 30% cut that Apple and Google demand from transactions through iOS App Store and Google Play respectively. The game company has now taken a step further by announcing a new payment option for mobile devices called Epic direct payment.
The implementation of the Epic direct payment for mobile is being timed nicely with the Fortnite Mega Drop which provides permanent discounts of up to 20% on V-Bucks and real-money offers across all platforms. Gamers that have purchased V-Bucks or real-money offers for the past 30 days will be provided with 20% V-Bucks bonus as well.
Unfortunately, Epic direct payment option is not yet available for Malaysia though. That being said, the option can utilise by those who sideloaded Fortnite into their Android device.
In less than six hours after Epic announced the new payment option, Apple then subsequently removed Fortnite from the App Store. According to the statement that the company has sent to The Verge, Epic has violated the App Store guidelines by implementing a feature that was neither reviewed nor approved by Apple.
Shortly after that, Epic upped the ante by releasing a short film into the Party Royale mode inside Fortnite. Called Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite, the film is a spoof of the legendary 1984 advert from Apple and is being used by Epic to launch its #FreeFortnite campaign.
Epic then goes even further by filing a lawsuit [pdf] against Apple to “end Apple’s unfair and anti-competitive actions”. Well, it is quite clear that the game company has anticipated the response from Apple early on and is quite ready to bring the fight to the next level.
So, let’s see what the endgame is going to be for both of these companies.
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