Fortnite developer Epic Games has hit a deadlock over plans to bring its alternative app store, the Epic Games Store, to the EU. As allowed by the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), Epic Games announced plans earlier this year to bring both its digital storefront and flagship game, Fortnite, back to iOS in Europe. Now, Epic says Apple has rejected its application twice over concerns that its Games Store is too similar to Apple's App Store.
In a post by X, Epic Games said that Apple rejected its application due to details such as the location of the game's “Install” button, which Apple said was too similar to its own “Get” button, and that the “In-App Purchase” labels were also too similar to Apple's labels, leading to its rejection.
3/3 Apple's refusal is arbitrary, obstructive, and in violation of the DMA, and we have conveyed our concerns to the European Commission. Barring further obstruction from Apple, we stand ready to launch Epic Games Store and Fortnite for iOS in the EU within the next 2-3 years.
— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) July 5, 2024
Epic claims to be using the same naming conventions that are standard across popular app stores on other platforms.
The company called the refusal “arbitrary, obstructive and in violation of the DMA” and said it had conveyed its concerns to the European Commission.
Epic's case is a high-profile example of how strict Apple is being with its new rules allowing third-party app stores on iOS for the first time, and any excessive refusal could deter other developers wanting to try their hand at their own distribution channels.
In response to Epic Games' post, Apple said it was helping the company get the Games Store live, and that per section 2.3(G) of the Developer Agreement, Epic Games had agreed not to make the Games Store confusingly similar to the App Store. Apple said Epic had largely followed these guidelines, with the exception of the design and copy of the download button.
Apple also noted that Epic Games' Fortnite app has already been approved.
The new DMA rules mean the tech giant, considered a “gatekeeper” under EU law, is forced to allow third-party app stores on iPhones. App developers can also switch to a new set of DMA rules that would allow it to pay less commission for in-app purchases on the App Store, but the process still involves fees and a complicated new structure in which developers pay Apple a fee for using its technology instead.
Epic has been battling Apple for years for a way to reach iPhone customers without paying in-app purchase fees. The company filed suit in U.S. courts but ultimately lost on most fronts, unable to prove that Apple was a monopoly. But Epic's complaints continued, leading Apple to temporarily suspend the company's developer account in the EU, after which EU regulators stepped in again. Since then, Epic Games has released Fortnite for iOS and iPad in the EU and has vowed to bring a games store to the market.