• by Colin Kirkland , July 5, 2024

Fortnite creator Epic Games has announced that its Games Store set for launch in the EU has been rejected by Apple for a second time, calling the tech giant’s rejection “arbitrary, obstructive, and in violation of the DMA [Digital Markets Act],” furthering years-long complications between both companies and marking future issues for developers.

Per the DMA, a set of rules intended to limit the power of the world’s most influential tech companies, acting as “gatekeepers,” and Epic Games’ lawsuit against Apple, the tech giant had to begin allowing apps to be “sideloaded,” or installed from alternative sources beyond the Apple App Store, which was previously charging game developers a 30% fee to use Apple's payment platform for in-app purchases.

In response to the decision, Epic Games announced that its new Games Store and popular battle royale game Fortnite would be returning to iOS in the EU.

“(shoutout DMA – an important new law in the EU making this possible),” Fortnite posted on X in January. “@Apple, the world is watching.”

However, Epic Games says its new Store has been rejected by the tech giant for being “too similar” to Apple's App Store, specifically in regards to the “Install” button and its “In-app purchases” label.

“We are using the same “Install and “In-app purchases” naming conventions that are used across popular app stores on multiple platforms, and are following standard conventions for buttons in iOS apps,” Epic said in a post on X, adding that it is trying to build a store mobile users can easily understand.

“The disclosure of in-app purchases is a regulatory best practice followed by all stores nowadays,” the company says.

With power to choose which new marketplaces and apps are allowed to compete with its App Store, Apple may pose threats to other developers despite the new rules imposed by the DMA. Continued rejections may scare off developers from attempting to launch their own distribution channels in the EU, which could violate the DMA's anti-monopolistic goals.

Apple says that its most recent rejection of Epic Games Store is rooted in an attempt to help the company successfully launch its store and citing Section 2.3 (G) of its developer agreement, which covers policy around lookalike features. Apple has approved Epic's Fortnite app, but without the store launch, it won't be accessible to iOS users in the EU.

Yet, Epic Games remains stringent on pushing through.

“Barring further roadblocks from Apple, we remain ready to launch in the Epic Games Store and Fortnite iOS in the EU in the next couple of months,” Epic says.

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