This isn’t the first time Epic Games has leveraged Fortnite’s popularity to confront digital marketplace gatekeepers. “Obviously Epic knew Apple was going to remove the app.” In a blog post Thursday, Epic Games also launched a #FREEFORTNITE campaign, clearly intended to turn its millions of Fortnite fans against the behemoth tech company. “Epic likes to poke and prod and make its points,” says Adam Blacker, vice president of insights at Apptopia. The quick rollout of the lawsuits after Epic Games stuck the Apple hornets nest indicates the company had a bigger plan than selling V-bucks. “Apple’s removal of Fortnite is yet another example of Apple flexing its enormous power in order to impose unreasonable restraints and unlawfully maintain its 100 percent monopoly over the iOS in-app payment processing market,” said an Epic Games representative. Hours later, after Google removed Fortnite from its Google Play Store, Epic Games filed a lawsuit alleging that Google also engages in similar "anti-competitive conduct." The lawsuit came just moments after Apple removed Fortnite from its iOS store for instituting an in-app payment system that let users circumvent Apple altogether, a violation of App Store guidelines. The move aligns with the developer’s years-long quest to disrupt digital marketplaces and their associated fees-and comes as Apple has faced increased antitrust scrutiny on Capitol Hill.Īlleging that Apple’s grip over the iOS market is “unreasonable and unlawful,” Epic Games seeks to force access to more apps and payment processing options on iOS. The game’s growing popularity as time goes by and its lack of protection mechanics against accidental purchases have resulted in Epic Games receiving many collective lawsuits, motivating the company to create new versions of the store in an attempt to make it clear what a user is buying, at what price, and their rights to refund their purchases.Fortnite creator Epic Games launched a spear at Apple’s gatekept iOS App Store market today with a lawsuit filed in the US District Court of Northern California. The payment has always been made in V-Bucks, a virtual currency exclusive to the game that must be purchased with real world money. The company also admits that since its release in 2017, Fortnite Battle Royale has had different versions of its store through which one can buy cosmetic items like characters - better known as outfits or skins-, Back Bling, Sprays, Emotes, and more. This number can be divided in two different concepts: $245 million are “to resolve concerns related to past designs of the Fortnite item shop and refund systems in Fortnite”, and an additional $275 million “to resolve concerns related to children’s privacy in Fortnite.” Through a statement on their official website, Epic Games has revealed their intention to pay a total of $520 million USD to the FTC. The company will pay the regulating company a total of $520 million dollars. Epic Games has revealed that they’ve come to a settlement with the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) regarding the multitude of lawsuits made against Fortnite due to its in-game store.
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