Apple blocks Epic Games from making iOS and Mac products, including Unreal Engine

Epic Games has revealed that Apple will be cutting off the Fortnite developer from all iOS and Mac development tools after the developer breached the company’s terms and service agreements. 

Taking to Twitter, Epic Games revealed that Apple had just informed them of the termination of their development accounts. Epic has responded with a second lawsuit against Apple.

“Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and has informed Epic that on Friday, August 28 Apple will terminate all our developer accounts and cut Epic off from iOS and Mac development tools,” Epic Games said on Twitter. “We are asking the court to stop this retaliation.”

Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and has informed Epic that on Friday, August 28 Apple will terminate all our developer accounts and cut Epic off from iOS and Mac development tools. We are asking the court to stop this retaliation. Details here: https://t.co/3br1EHmyd8

— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) August 17, 2020

In the new and rather exhaustive new lawsuit – following the original lawsuit and a Google lawsuit – Epic Games explains that Apple is retaliating “ferociously” against the Fortnite developer.

“Just over two weeks ago, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook was asked during a Congressional hearing whether Apple has “ever retaliated against or disadvantaged a developer who went public about their frustrations with the App Store”. Mr. Cook testified, “We do not retaliate or bully people. It’s strongly against our company culture.”But Apple has done just that,” reads the new lawsuit.

Epic Games’ lawsuit explains that since Apple has removed their ability to create software for iOS and Mac devices, the company will no longer be able to create their Unreal Engine development tools for those platforms, an act that will be “will irreparably damage Epic’s reputation among Fortnite users and be catastrophic for the future of the separate Unreal Engine business.”

“If the Unreal Engine can no longer support Apple platforms, the software developers that use it will be forced to use alternatives,” the lawsuit claims. “The damage to Epic’s ongoing business and to its reputation and trust with its customers will be unquantifiable and irreparable.”

“Epic filed its suit against Apple challenging its monopoly on app stores and in-app purchases. Less than twelve hours later, Apple notified Epic it was terminating Epic from the Apple Developer Program, blocking all Epic products from distribution through Apple’s App Store. Apple specifically stated it would terminate Epic’s access to development tools, including those necessary for Epic to keep offering the world’s most popular graphics engine, the Unreal Engine.”

“Epic cannot develop future versions of the Unreal Engine for use on iOS or macOS. Developers that intend to sell their apps for use on iOS or macOS devices will have to forgo the Unreal Engine in favor of other engines. The effects will reverberate well beyond video games; it will affect developers who use the Unreal Engine on Apple products in many fields. The ensuing impact on the Unreal Engine’s viability, and the trust and confidence developers have in that engine, cannot be repaired with a monetary award. This is quintessential irreparable harm.”