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Microsoft back Epic’s fight to not get booted off Apple devicesThe Fortnite fight has escalated
The Fortnite fight has escalated
Update: A judge haspartially grantedEpic’s requests, so they should keep their dev accounts for now.
Losing the ability to keep developing Unreal Engine for Mac and iOS could really harm both Epic Games and the developers who rely on them, Microsoft have said in a legal statement supporting Epic. The Unreal lords are trying to get a court to stop Apple from terminating their developer accounts, which is due to happen on Friday unless their lawyers deliver a victory royale. It’s one messy consequence of Epic’s legal battle against Apple and Google over app store fees, which sure has escalated since starting with Fortnite microtransactions.
“Denying Epic access to Apple’s SDK and other development tools will prevent Epic from supporting Unreal Engine on iOS and macOS, and will place Unreal Engine and those game creators that have built, are building, and may build games on it at a substantial disadvantage,” said Kevin Gammill, Microsoft’s general manager of Gaming Developer Experiences. Their own Forza Street is one of the many Unreal Engine games on iOS. He explained that Unreal Engine losing some platforms might put developers off using it, and might harm those who already are.
“If the game engine can no longer develop updates that take advantage of new iOS or macOS features, fix software bugs, or patch security flaws, this will harm games that have already launched on iOS and macOS (and, in turn, harm gamers),” he said. So yeah, Microsoft want Epic to keep their developer access.
“Ensuring that Epic has access to the latest Apple technology is the right thing for gamer developers & gamers,” Xbox head Phil Spencer addedon Twitter.
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Apple filed their opposition to Epic’s motion on Friday, calling them out:
Epic seemingly wanted to spark public debate over store cuts and fees but it’s become a far larger problem for them, and many people who rely on them. It’s distasteful for Epic to bepissing about with daft Fortnite prizes mocking Applewhen there may be dire consequences for developers who use Unreal Engine, and who didn’t ask to be dragged into Epic’s war. I too would like to see smaller fees and more freedom on app stores; I do not support how Epic are going about it; I am appalled that Apple are willing to risk so much collateral damage. A real garbage situation.
