Following Apple’s termination of Epic Games’ developer account, the iPhone company is now facing an investigation by the European Union to see if it has breached the European Digital Markets Act (DMA).
In case you missed it, Epic plans to not only bring Fortnite back to the Apple store, making it playable on iPhones and iPads again, but also establish the Epic Games Store on iOS devices. Despite getting a developer account for the Apple store approved last month, though, it was unexpectedly terminated yesterday.
Epic claimed this was in violation of the DMA, which allows other companies to establish their own marketplaces on Apple devices. As such, a spokesperson of the European Commission (EC) has confirmed the matter is being investigated (via Reuters), and the EC is seeking an explanation from Apple.
Unsurprisingly, Apple has so far stated it acted within its rights to close Epic’s developer account, adding this was determined by the courts during the antitrust legal battle between the two companies. The results of said legal battle were what led to the DMA, but it also wasn’t a complete win for Epic. An Apple spokesperson told Reuters the court’s ruling means the company “has the right to terminate ‘any or all of Epic Games’ wholly owned subsidiaries, affiliates, and/or other entities under Epic Games’ control at any time and at Apple’s sole discretion.” As for why it decided to exercise this right, Apple reiterated it was because of “Epic’s past and ongoing behavior.”
So, what happens next? Epic will certainly fight tooth and nail to get its developer account reinstated, which means we could very well see it take Apple to court all over again. As a reminder, this whole fiasco started when Epic attempted to sell Fortnite‘s V-Bucks currency directly to players rather than through the Apple store. Apple deemed this a violation of its terms and services and thus kicked Fortnite off the platform, which in turn sparked a lawsuit from Epic and even an in-game promotional campaign to rally support from Fortnite fans.
