Epic Games VS Apple: The Absurd 30% Battle

The judicial battle between Epic Games and Apple It has only just begun, at the end of this month of September the first views will begin in California (United States of America) so everything indicates that, as happened with the FBI scandal, we are going to have Epic Games even in Soup.

We are going to critically analyze the issue between Epic Games and Apple to see what the real reasons for this confrontation may be or if, on the contrary, there is something that escapes us. It may not have as much to do with commissions as we think.

The Day Epic Games "Got Tired" of Commissions

During the first weeks of August, Epic Games decided that it was no longer the time to continue "enriching" Apple at their expense. This was the moment when the company that owns Fortnite decided to give a twist to the matter.

It was then that he added to his iOS game the possibility of purchasing products and skins alternatively outside of the iOS App Store, and even encouraging the user to do so with a slight price reduction. However, Epic Games knew the consequences of this action.

Promoting purchases "outside" of the App Store in order to save 30% commission is a flagrant violation of the agreement that developers sign with Apple to be able to offer their products in the App Store, and as they have confessed later, from Epic Games they knew perfectly well.

Epic Games has enabled a feature in its application that was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and has done so with the express intention of violating the rules of the App Store regarding in-app purchases and that affects any developer who sells goods digital or services. - Disc. Apple Press.

Does the App Store really represent a monopoly?

As Epic Games has expressed it, it might seem so, but the reality is quite different from the "populist" message that Epic Games has wanted to sell us all. The reality is that Google, Sony and Microsoft, places where Epic Games offers Fortnite, charge exactly the same 30% commission.

In fact, 30% is the industry standardized commission for these types of software products, Regardless of special agreements that you may have with certain manufacturers, such as Sony, since Fortnite can be played even without paying for the PlayStation Plus.

Epic Games challenged the App Store monopoly. In retaliation, Apple is blocking Fortnite on XNUMX billion devices. Visit https://t.co/Z83GvgINB4 and join the fight so that 2020 does not become "1984". pic.twitter.com/dRPDpWKhNb

- Fortnite_ES (@Fortnite_ES) August 13

However, Epic Games acted quickly, issuing a "copy" of Apple's famous "1984" ad, which makes it clear that the developer company had prepared all this meticulous move, and the time for propaganda had come, turn the public against Apple by telling half-truths.

Definitely and after the #FreeFortnite campaign it has become clear that Apple does nothing but the same as the rest of the providers where Fortnite is offered, so to speak of a monopoly seems at least hypocritical. However, there is a notable difference between Apple and the other providers that we will talk about later.

Install apps outside of the App Store

This is really what the whole movie is based on, the possibility of installing Fortnite directly through the Epic Games Store, an external installer that may be offered outside of the App Store.

The company that owns Fortnite has in fact already put this same play into practice on Android devices, spending that 30% of money that did not offer to Google in advertising campaigns by the hand of Samsung, where the Epic Game Store would come pre-installed, a new sea of ​​contradictions.

However, the play did not go as well as Epic Games would have liked, which evidently had to plant itself in the Google Play Store and go through the hoop and pay that 30% of commissions to the "Don´t be evil" company. If the method is so good, why doesn't it seem to work on Android?

Let's not forget that there are other hardware products such as the PlayStation or the Xbox, where it is impossible to install Fortnite without using the channel offered by the manufacturer. Therefore, it seems that the real reason must be another, or is it only annoying if it comes from the company of the bitten apple? The reason is obvious, the App Store moves much more money.

The populist charade of Epic Games

Meanwhile, Epic Games continues to launch populist messages, becoming a champion of small developers, breaking monopolies, as they want to call the iOS App Store.

The reality is very different, no small developer that uses the use of logic could position itself on behalf of Epic Games. The reality is that according to the constant analysis of Sensor Tower, an application in the iOS App Store generates, on average, at least twice the income than in the Google Play Store.

The greatest example is WhatsApp, an application that would not exist today if it weren't precisely for iOS users, They welcomed you to pay € 0,99 to buy the application (among which I include myself). This has been the only real income of WhatsApp by the application.

When landing on other platforms, the indisposition of users and the constant «hacking» of the application caused the application to bet on a subscription model and later for a totally free model and its subsequent sale to Facebook. Developers know very well that the App Store is an ideal place to grow professionally.

Many unknowns behind this movement

The propaganda movement has not seemed to be of much use to Epic Games, which continues to see how Fortnite is overwhelmed by CoD: Warzone or Fall Guys, as they embark on a legal battle against the Cupertino company.

The reality is that Epic Games, despite being a North American company, exists thanks to the important injections of money from Tencent Games (Chinese company). We don't want to believe that this is actually political retaliation, but the reality is that Epic Games' movements seem erratic and undoubtedly hide hidden reasons that we have not been able to identify.