Bloomberg reports that after a short hibernation period, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has renewed his battle with Apple, calling for a single universal app store working across all platforms.
“What the world really needs now is a single store that works with all platforms,” Sweeney said in an interview in Seoul on Tuesday. “Right now software ownership is fragmented between the iOS App Store, the Android Google Play marketplace, different stores on Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch, and then Microsoft Store and the Mac App Store.” Epic is working with developers and service providers to create a system that would allow users “to buy software in one place, knowing that they’d have it on all devices and all platforms.”
In 2020, Epic and Apple waged a legal battle over the popular “Fortnite” game and in-app purchases. Epic had broken App Store rules by implementing a direct payment option that cut Apple out of its commission. Apple removed the game from the App Store and terminated Epic’s developer account.
The verdict in the lengthy legal battle said that while Apple’s anti-steering conduct is anti-competitive, Apple was correct on all other counts.
Epic Games paid Apple $6 million in lost royalties but has appealed the verdict.
Earlier this year, South Korea passed a bill prohibiting app distribution platforms (like Apple’s App Store), from forcing developers to solely use their payment method. Apple will be required to offer other in-app payment methods in the country.
