Fortnite banned from App Store

[hazelnut]

Fortnite (Epic Games) just got banned from the App Store and Google Play because Epic wanted to bypass the 30% charge Google take off every purchase. Fortnite for Android also banned. Court cases immediately got set in motion and also Epic games offered a 20% permanent discount, see here

https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/the-fortnite-mega-drop-permanent-discounts-up-to-20-percent

Watch the new Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite short mocking video 

https://youtu.be/euiSHuaw6Q4

Whole ongoing saga here

https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/13/21367923/fortnite-apple-app-store-epic-games-need-to-know

 

[Andavari]

Saw a YouTube video a few hours ago about Apple kicking them off their platform, seems more interesting with others doing the same. I wonder if any U.S. laws have anything to do with it getting kicked off platforms, since the game is supposedly backed by China.

I've never been interested in the game, it looks too cartoonish for my tastes.

[hazelnut]

It's nothing to do with China. It's all about Apple using its App Store to hold a monopoly and cut out any competiton.

It is affecting millions of users of the game.

Quote

After its creator Epic Games  implemented a workaround to duck Apple’s hefty developer fees, Fortnite has vanished from the App Store. The popular game’s disappearing act came the same day that Epic added a new direct payment option for in-game currency on mobile, offering an enticing 20% discount for players who pay the company for its virtual V-Bucks rather handing that money to intermediaries Apple or Google.

“Currently, when using Apple  and Google payment options, Apple and Google collect a 30% fee, and the up to 20% price drop does not apply,” Epic wrote in a blog post introducing the new option. “If Apple or Google lower their fees on payments in the future, Epic will pass along the savings to you.”

 

 https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/13/fortnite-app-store-removed-apple/?