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Epic Games appears to have exposed Apple’s development on virtual reality platforms as part of its dispute with the iPhone maker.
The game studio recently rolled out a direct payment system in an apparent attempt to trick Apple into removing Fortnite from the App Store. Apple did and, in response, Epic filed a prepared complaint accompanying the campaign on social media.
On Monday, Epic Games said Apple is threatening to take further action, including cutting access to its developer accounts and tools. Epic also posted a letter from Apple that appeared to contain a reference to VR systems.
Due to the termination of its developer accounts, Apple said that Epic Games would lose access to “the adoption and support of ARKit features and future VR features in Unreal Engine by their XR team,” among other features. .
Apple’s ARKit is a development framework that developers can use to build augmented reality apps for iPhone. But Apple doesn’t currently offer any sort of VR products or features to the public.
AR refers to augmented reality systems that overlay digital elements on a real environment, while virtual reality is typically a fully virtualized environment typically used for games.
The Cupertino company is largely expected to launch an AR headset that serves as an accessory to an iPhone, perhaps under the nickname “Apple Glass”. But there haven’t been as many rumors pointing to an Apple VR-like product.
However, there are some signs that Apple is developing some type of VR system. A recently published patent application suggests that Apple is working on a VR headset that is not transparent like “Apple Glass”. In May, the company acquired VR video streaming startup NextVR.
While the promise of an Apple VR solution is tantalizing, it is possible that the “VR features” mentioned in Apple’s letter simply refer to existing partnerships with third-party VR companies like HTC Vive Pro.
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