When Epic first brought its incredibly popular video game Fortnite to smartphones two years ago, the company sidestepped the App Store and Google Play by offering its own Android app launcher.

Fortnite mobile

Eventually Epic made its game available in the official Android and iOS app stores, but company officials were never happy about having to split revenue with Apple and Google. Today Epic launched a new payment option that would allow users to save money on in-app purchases if they made them using Epic’s payment system… something that clearly violates Apple and Google rules.

Apple swiftly responded by kicking Fortnite out of the App Store. Epic responded by filing a lawsuit and releasing a short video accusing Apple of becoming the monster it once fought.

Apple notes that the revenue cut it takes isn’t a one-way street: in a statement the iPhone maker notes that companies like Epic benefit from the App Store ecosystem as well.

In some ways this is a case of giants fighting giants. It’s unlikely that a smaller company with a less popular/profitable app could afford to take this kind of risk. But in this particular battle, it’s not clear that Apple needs Epic more than the other way around… but it’s also not clear that Epic really needs Apple… if the lawsuit fails to crack open the App Store in any way, Epic will probably be fine. Fortnite is still one of the most popular games in the world, something that was true even before the game was available for iPhones.

Meanwhile, Apple continues to prohibit game streaming services from its platform, so it’s not like Epic can distribute Fortnite for iPhone users that way.

Update: Google too. 

Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.

You can keep up on the latest headlines by following Liliputing on Twitter and Facebook.

Support Liliputing

Liliputing's primary sources of revenue are advertising and affiliate links (if you click the "Shop" button at the top of the page and buy something on Amazon, for example, we'll get a small commission).

But there are several ways you can support the site directly even if you're using an ad blocker* and hate online shopping.

Contribute to our Patreon campaign

or...

Contribute via PayPal

* If you are using an ad blocker like uBlock Origin and seeing a pop-up message at the bottom of the screen, we have a guide that may help you disable it.

Subscribe to Liliputing via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9,547 other subscribers