In the middle of last year, in August, Apple decided to put aside the Fortnite game and that it could no longer be downloaded from the App Store. At that time, it seemed that the company on the block was giving Epic Games a lesson in power. However, as time has passed, new strategies have been seen that establish that neither Apple has been the bad one nor Epic Games so harmed still creating his project freedom. Both play hide-and-seek, but one of them will have to "tie it up."
Epic Games complained of a monopoly on Apple's part. The Freedom Project is created.
From the App Store you could first play Fortnite. After the fight between Epic Games and Apple, the latter decided to remove the game from the app store and punish the game company by losing. its developer capacity. The controversy continues to last and although part of it has been resolved, Apple users cannot play Fortnite directly.
The directors of Epic Games maintained the proclamation that Apple exercised a monopoly (it joined the car or train that was already circulating in that sense) and that the commissions it charged were abusive. The company led by Tim Cook defended itself time and time again saying that it did not exercise such a monopoly, since that game like many others could be acquired by other means and that Apple was not the first in billing in video games. But it is also that he defended himself against the charges of charging commissions, stating that the same fee has been charged since the beginning (2008) and that everyone is charged equally, big or small.
Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), has no monopoly or market power in the relevant product market for gaming application transactions. And it cannot be said that it had that power when the restrictions in question around the launch of the App Store were imposed.
Those of Apple did not seem very convincing with their argument and Fortnite users increasingly positioned themselves on the side of their game. Emboldened by Epic Games who were creating specific in-game events in support of their lawsuit against Apple. Especially when it came to light that Epic Games had decided to turn this process into a declaration of intent against "monopoly companies" in the call Freedom Project.
It is not how it is counted. According to Apple, the freedom project was created because Fortnite was already in low hours
Apple argues in its legal filings that the App Store has created new opportunities that did not exist before. The company says the App Store has become extremely important to the economy as the app business moves millions of dollars around the world. It states that "the vast majority of applications are free to download," which means that the company does not earn a commission for them.
According to Apple, Epic Games has hired public relations firms already in 2019 to work on a media strategy called "Project Library" aimed at portraying Apple "as the bad guy." The video game company hired Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and a public relations firm in that year, and this lawsuit is the culmination of that effort. It does so because, according to Apple, the Freedom Project began when they saw a decrease in their income and monthly active users. In that way, they created a strategy to pay less commissions.
In addition to all of the above, Apple claims that there is no such monopoly because Epic had more than $ 700 million in revenue of iOS consumers with Fortnite when the game was available on the App Store. The company also pays commissions to other platforms that Fortnite is distributed on.
The tests now presented by Apple will have continuity the next May 3 when the trial begins in which it is expected that the largest representatives of both companies go to it in person.