Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney Teases Fortnite Returning to iOS in 2023 as Legal Battle Continues

[MacLawyer]

I'm not against side-loading or 3rd party app stores per se. My concern is that big developers will abandon the Apple App Store and sell exclusively from their sites. I trust Apple's App Store. Not so much the other guys.

I'm hoping that Apple will do something like what happens on the Mac side. (Apps have to be signed by Apple to run on the latest OS builds.)

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

Is anyone out there still care for Fortnite to make a return in iOS or have you moved on?

That’s another thing Fortnite is as about as played(no pun) as it gets. Epic is done and done.

 

[nistromo]

So this is how they slice up Apple, intense lobbying of "governments" so they can make more money from people.
If you want a fragmented experience where you hand your credit card to anyone then there's other platforms available.

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

Nah, Apple will be forced to change their absurd App Store policies in order to remain competitive. At the end of the day a smaller cut of revenue is better than nothing.

Nah, Apple will thrive as people will realize the value of its secure and private walled garden App Store after people try sideloading and their life is turned upside down

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

Hackers and our our beloved online terrorists are praying for sideloading…

 

[goobot]

The eu won’t allow apple to charge a fee on apps installed from other stores or from the developer website. Epic will eventually get what it asked for and apple will have to comply. Kudos to epic for making it better for all of us.

I have a feeling apple is gana do something like abolish App Store fees and instead make a Xcode fee. Any app built with Xcode needs to payout 30% of revenue and if someone tried to make an app with third party tools apple will break it like how they used to break palms integration with iTunes.

 

[Vespi]

I think Apple will find a way to stop them for coming back

 

[User 6502]

Hey I want to sell my saws in Home Depot stores but I DEMAND that I be allowed to sell them and not have to pay Home Depot anything. Their shelf space fixtures, utilities, cashiers, stockpeople, facility platform etc is not my problem and I WILL NOT pay them for it. Same thing with Apple screw them and their platform costs!….I mean this whole thing brought by Epic is absolutely absurd lol.

Your metaphor doesn’t work. Epic is not going to use apple’s store, so it doesn’t have to pay apple any platform cost. After all nobody pays apple to make a Mac app (unless they publish it on the Mac App Store, and very few do). You pay for ‘platform’ and APIs by paying your developer fee.

Nah, Apple will thrive as people will realize the value of its secure and private walled garden App Store after people try sideloading and their life is turned upside down

so dramatic. Nothing of the sort is going to happen. Have you ever used a Mac? It’s gonna be exactly like that and nobody ever complained about it.

 

[User 6502]

I think Apple will find a way to stop them for coming back

They would be fined and rightly so.

 

[User 6502]

I have a feeling apple is gana do something like abolish App Store fees and instead make a Xcode fee. Any app built with Xcode needs to payout 30% of revenue and if someone tried to make an app with third party tools apple will break it like how they used to break palms integration with iTunes.

And you think the eu would be fine with that? They would hit even harder and rightly so.

 

[User 6502]

I demand that CostCo allow me to sell my cereal on the highest visible shelf and I demand Costco not charge me anything for this privilege!

Except epic doesn’t want to sell on apple’a highest shelf, or indeed on any apple’s shelf. Epic doesn’t want to use the App Store at all, and instead using their own epic store. You would be demanding Costco not to use their shelves, and I’m sure Costco can force you to sell your stuff in their store.

 

[maflynn]

Of course the EU gets the final say,

No matter how you slice it, the current environment both in the US and EU, seem to be that they're going to be looking at how Apple does business a lot closer. Their App store policies seem to be coming under increased scrutiny

 

[Martinpa]

Once apple is forced to allow side loading very few companies will care about working with apple. Have a look at the Mac App Store, it’s basically empty because nobody wants to have to argue with apple about silly unreasonable rules that keep changing and are to nobody’s benefit except apple’s.

The difference is that people were used to downloading their Mac apps from the internet, then the Mac App Store happened.

Conversely, people are accustomed to the App Store paradigm on their iPhone.

Not saying it’ll have zero impact, but it won’t be a repeat of the Mac App Store.

 

[bviktor]

I reckon he's referring to the EU bill that will require 3rd party app stores and sideloading. There should be nothing stopping Fortnite's return to iOS then?

There has never been anything "stopping" Fortnite from returning to iOS, Epic could solve the issue at any given moment in time.

It was deleted because Epic intentionally went against app store policies to make up an excuse to sue Apple, and keeps going against said policies ever since, instead of adhering to them like before.

 

[bviktor]

Sideloading will be a game changer, we can finally have emulators and game streaming apps without having to jailbreak or jump through hoops. The iPhone is about to become the ultimate portable gaming machine.

Yeah, we can finally have a plethora of malware on iOS, like all other open ecosystems! Can't wait!!

 

[bviktor]

Once apple is forced to allow side loading very few companies will care about working with apple. Have a look at the Mac App Store, it’s basically empty because nobody wants to have to argue with apple about silly unreasonable rules that keep changing and are to nobody’s benefit except apple’s.

Yeah, it doesn't benefit anybody, besides customers.

But yeah, you're totally right, we should ditch that, and focus on billionare software companies getting EVEN MORE profit, that should indeed be a top priority for me.

I hate when people have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. You're clearly someone who NEVER actually looked at those policies, you only heard other people complaining about them and decided on your own they're stupid.

So let me give you a couple of examples of those "unreasonable rules that don't benefit anyone":

Apps should not include content that is offensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust, in exceptionally poor taste, or just plain creepy. Examples of such content include: Defamatory, discriminatory, or mean-spirited content, including references or commentary about religion, race, sexual orientation, gender, national/ethnic origin, or other targeted groups, particularly if the app is likely to humiliate, intimidate, or harm a targeted individual or group.

If you want to participate in the Kids Category, you should focus on creating a great experience specifically for younger users. These apps must not include links out of the app, purchasing opportunities, or other distractions to kids unless reserved for a designated area behind a parental gate.

Medical apps that could provide inaccurate data or information, or that could be used for diagnosing or treating patients may be reviewed with greater scrutiny. Apps must clearly disclose data and methodology to support accuracy claims relating to health measurements.

Drug dosage calculators must come from the drug manufacturer, a hospital, university, health insurance company, pharmacy or other approved entity, or receive approval by the FDA or one of its international counterparts.

Apps should implement appropriate security measures to ensure proper handling of user information collected pursuant to the Apple Developer Program License Agreement

Don’t include any hidden, dormant, or undocumented features in your app; your app’s functionality should be clear to end users and App Review.

If your app includes in-app purchases, make sure your app description, screenshots, and previews clearly indicate whether any featured items, levels, subscriptions, etc. require additional purchases.

Design your app to use power efficiently and be used in a way that does not risk damage to the device. Apps should not rapidly drain battery, generate excessive heat, or put unnecessary strain on device resources.

Apps should be self-contained in their bundles, and may not read or write data outside the designated container area, nor may they download, install, or execute code which introduces or changes features or functionality of the app, including other apps.

Apps must request explicit user consent and provide a clear visual and/or audible indication when recording, logging, or otherwise making a record of user activity.

Apps must not force users to rate the app, review the app, download other apps, or other similar actions in order to access functionality, content, or use of the app.

If you are changing your existing app to a subscription-based business model, you should not take away the primary functionality existing users have already paid for.

Just a bunch of cherry-picked examples. Geez, Apple must make SO MUCH MONEY for enforcing these! If racial slurs would be allowed, I'm sure Apple would lose so much money! It's really horrible that Apple writes these protections FOR the customer, AGAINST software developer billionaires, right? We should abolish these and have a free for all market where anyone can be scammed and abused in any way, like the open ecosystem of Windows, right? I mean, it's been only 30 years of malware and scams, it MIGHT work out sometime later, right? Let us open the floodgates, please! I can't bear one more day of poor poor Sweeney and Zuckerberg not earning more billions and not being able to spy on me uncontrollably!

 

[WiseAJ]

Yeah, it doesn't benefit anybody, besides customers.

But yeah, you're totally right, we should ditch that, and focus on billionare software companies getting EVEN MORE profit, that should indeed be a top priority for me.

Consumers won’t benefit. Things are about to get much worse for us. Can’t wait to dodge all the malware and fragmentation. There is no winner in this elimination of choice.

 

[hagar]

Does that mean I can create my own Fortnite store ? Epic has to allow developers to sell skins.

Excellent point. Let’s watch how fast Epic will change their tune when the table turns.

 

[theinsaneworld]

Couldn't care less. Fornite needs to die and Epic needs to make a new game! Miss the old days when Epic made things like Unreal Tournament and really showcased their tech.. not the crap that is Fornite!

This right here. Unreal Engine is amazing technology and the other game franchises were so much more interesting, but Fortnite tainted Epic as a company. It warped their priorities and pushed them to siphon as much money as they could through dark patterns and micro transactions.

 

[bviktor]

Consumers won’t benefit. Things are about to get much worse for us. Can’t wait to dodge all the malware and fragmentation. There is no winner in this elimination of choice.

Customers do benefit, I just brought MANY examples from the app store guidelines of how YOU as a customer benefit. Name ONE of those examples and explain how it won't benefit you.

If you wanna "dodge malware", get a rooted Android and enjoy your mess, and leave our iPhones the f*ck alone, thanks.

 

[britboyj]

1) Apple will likely allow sideloading, but not third party app stores. We also don't know what sort of restrictions will be placed on side loaded apps, so I doubt many people will actually go through the hassle of sideloading Fortnite. In the very least, the absence of Fortnite from the App Store has not impact iPhone sales materially.

2) Apple will still attempt to charge Epic 27% of IAP revenue for apps sideloaded in this manner. At the end of the day, Epic is no better off just agreeing to pay Apple 30% in order to return to the App Store.

Of course the EU gets the final say, but I suspect that Tim Sweeney is celebrating too prematurely here.

1. Apple doesn't have any say in what gets sideloaded. Once they allow sideloading, third-party App Stores are in too, since all they do is... sideload other apps.

2. Apple can't do this, because they have no visibility into what happens in a sideloaded app. Sideloaded apps would have the option of using Apple's own payment APIs, or their own third-party payment solution, or direct.

The EU does indeed get final say, as does the US, which has its own version of this in the Digital App Markets Act.

Hey I want to sell my saws in Home Depot stores but I DEMAND that I be allowed to sell them and not have to pay Home Depot anything. Their shelf space fixtures, utilities, cashiers, stockpeople, facility platform etc is not my problem and I WILL NOT pay them for it. Same thing with Apple screw them and their platform costs!….I mean this whole thing brought by Epic is absolutely absurd lol.

That's not really the same thing. Your consumers don't use the saws IN Home Depot. They use them at home. You can set up shop outside Home Depot's premises and sell saws to consumers for them to use how they see fit, but you can also still sell those saws in Home Depot's store as well. Or not.

 

[kuwxman]

That's inaccurate, incorrect and a fantasy.

Seriously. And I'm agreeing with you as a proponent of sideloading. 9/10 customers are going to take the 'easy' way to get apps on their phones...and that undisputed route is app store. Sideloading is for special use cases or power users which the general public is very much not.

 

[theinsaneworld]

And you think the eu would be fine with that? They would hit even harder and rightly so.

Actually, the EU laws don’t prevent Apple from making money off their IP. You’re delusional if you think that Apple is going to flat out open everything without some form of compensation and the laws aren’t written as such. macOS is a legacy platform that prior to iOS and the App Store, you had to pay to get access to developer tools, and frankly, the Mac was much smaller of a platform back then. You can’t force companies to provide free stuff. As a matter of fact, the laws were written in a way that just says platforms have to level the playing field, not that you can’t charge admission.

 

[ponzicoinbro]

Seriously. And I'm agreeing with you as a proponent of sideloading. 9/10 customers are going to take the 'easy' way to get apps on their phones...and that undisputed route is app store. Sideloading is for special use cases or power users which the general public is very much not.

Yep. It's like all alternative means of getting media or software. Most people will just do things the recommended way to stay clear of trouble. Piracy has always been easy but most people like to buy stuff. People prefer browsing in big stores and often waiting for a nice sale or discount. Sony has a big store, Microsoft has a big store, Nintendo has a big store.

 

[theinsaneworld]

Consumers won’t benefit. Things are about to get much worse for us. Can’t wait to dodge all the malware and fragmentation. There is no winner in this elimination of choice.

The OP was being sarcastic. The person the OP was commenting to was saying that consumer will benefit from an open platform.