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The past few days have been pretty intense for Apple and Epic Games after the popular game Fortnite was pulled from the App Store for bypassing Apple’s in-app purchase system. While Epic Games is now suing Apple, a new report from Information reveals that the games company is trying to team up with other companies against Apple and App Store policies.
The report learned from sources that Epic Games reached out to executives of other tech companies who disagree with strict Apple App Store rules, such as the 30% commission charged on every sale. . One of those companies is Spotify, which criticizes Apple’s activity regarding the App Store.
While claiming that it does not have a coalition with Epic Games, a spokesperson for Spotify said last week that the company supports Epic’s decision to tackle “Apple’s unfair practices”. Spotify claims that the App Store business model with arbitrary rules disadvantages competitors and hurts consumers.
An executive of a games company, who did not wish to be identified, said he supported the pressure on Apple to reduce App Store commissions. The executive was contacted by Epic Games to join the group against Apple, but declined the invitation fearing the group might violate antitrust laws as well.
Several large tech companies are also concerned about Apple’s App Store policies, but may be reluctant to join a formal group because they face their own antitrust investigations. Yet Epic’s campaign has already prompted some of them to step up their criticism of Apple’s practices.
According to Information, Facebook has decided to launch its new service which hosts paid events to be broadcast live earlier than expected after the dispute between Epic Games and Apple. Facebook also criticized Apple for the 30% commission on App Store sales, as the company tried to negotiate to avoid the fee by claiming the Apple commission is hurting small businesses during the pandemic.
We have yet to find out the outcome of this battle between Apple, Epic Games, and other developers, but it’s worth remembering that Apple is now facing multiple antitrust investigations due to the App Store monopoly.
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