It's not every day that one multimillion tech company takes the other to court. However, that's exactly what's going on with Apple and the developer of Fortnite. Epic Games intends to bring a lawsuit against the tech giant after Epic put out a permanent discount on the in-game currency V-Bucks via a workaround that prevented Apple from taking a cut off the top, prompting Apple to remove the game from the App Store. It's a high profile dispute that's turning heads well outside the Fortnite community, especially in the context of Apple's appearance at an antitrust hearing in Congress just a few weeks ago.
What's more, it looks like Epic was ready and expecting a fight, because an anti-Apple publicity campaign is well under way. Fortnite's makers released an Apple parody video almost immediately after the news broke. The short imitates a famous Apple ad from decades ago, advertising the company's Macintosh computers with the theme of resisting a dystopian society like that of George Orwell's 1984. It seems unlikely that Epic conceived, scripted, and animated this video in the handful of hours between the V-Bucks discount and the ban from the iOS App Store. Epic had already agreed to Apple's terms to be on the store and knew that violating them now would draw Apple's ire.
With that in mind, it sounds like Epic is trying to take it upon itself to make a change in the tech industry. Taking this cornerstone tech company to court is going to be worth watching. The battle for Fortnite might result in some landmark rulings that could affect Apple's business model and mean a great deal to games with microtransactions all across the market.
Consequences for Fortnite
On a publicity level, this case is permanently going to change how tech companies and potential partners view Epic. The situation could have been resolved easily -- if Epic removed the payment loophole that violated Apple's guidelines, it might have been able to quickly negotiate a return to the App Store. Instead, Epic has shown its confidence and defiance. It isn't interested in bowing to the demands of another company, because it knows it has enough clout of its own to pick this fight. Still, any company working with Epic will now take this attitude into consideration, whether that means eagerness or wariness to make a deal.
Ultimately, this case is hardly going to be the death of Fortnite. The game is available and successful on tons of platforms, from console to PC, and has a tremendous loyal fanbase that is sure to keep the game afloat even while Epic is distracted by a legal battle. Naturally, though, the longer the legal battle between Apple and Fortnite drags out, the more revenue Epic loses from potential transactions it could've done on the iOS version of the game. The same goes for the Google Play Store version, since Google is feuding with Fortnite now too.
There's a chance that this whole affair ends up boosting Fortnite's popularity to some degree. Fortnite is working very hard to frame itself as the martyr in this situation, losing its place on these stores in order to challenge the big tech companies' alleged attempts to monopolize the market. However, it's going to mean taking a hit to Epic's revenue and potentially earning a reputation in the game and tech industries as a deal breaker and a trouble maker.
Defining the Legal Frontier
What's really worth paying attention to around this lawsuit are the potential legal ramifications of the suit's conclusion -- not just for these two companies, but for all corners of the tech and gaming industries. Since technologies like the Internet and video games are very recent in the greater scope of history, it's a bit of an uncharted territory in legal terms. Countries everywhere are still working on how laws and regulations work in a digital society with huge companies like Apple. It's hard to figure out what laws are appropriate or even useful when imposed on technology, since said technology is rapidly improving all the time. Laws want to stand in place for a long time, but tech refuses to stand still.
This situation could result in new restrictions on Apple's App Store model. It's currently structured in a way that Apple can earn a lot of revenue off other companies' microtransactions, but if that's found to be predatory, it might force more than a few companies to reexamine their policies and come up with new income streams. Alternatively, there might be a ruling that punishes Fortnite for defying the App Store's guidelines. Something like that would put a lot more power in the hands of companies like Apple and Google and give companies like Epic less room to protest against perceived inequalities.
Pressure on Apple
The most drastic and immediate consequence that could come from this case is direct action against Apple by the government. If the case is ruled in Epic's favor, Apple might see some significant punishment for trying to monopolize companies on its store to make a profit. A court order could force Apple to repay damages to Epic and companies like it or to restructure its holdings. It might even result in a deeper investigation into Apple's business practices, since the previously mentioned Congressional hearing indicates that there's plenty of distrust pointed at the company already.
It should be mentioned that the situation might come around to affect Fortnite too. Nearly 50% of Epic Games shares are owned by Tencent, an international conglomerate that has been acquiring game studios around the world for the last few years, in part or in whole. Some members of the gaming community are increasingly uneasy about Tencent's behavior and fear that it's working towards a monopoly of its own. However, since it's a Chinese company, it's uncertain how any potential rulings on the Fortnite-Apple case will impact Tencent for now.
All things considered, this doesn't look like a dispute that'll be settled out of court and suddenly disappear. Epic has made the actions against Fortnite into a tremendous publicity affair and showed that it's eager to pick fights right now since it's handing Google a lawsuit of its own. There's a distinct chance that some major changes to the iOS store and the Google Play Store are on the horizon, but for now, that all remains to be seen.
Fortnite is available now on mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, and in development for Xbox Series X and PS5.