Epic Games is a great venture but its management has scored a major own-goal, going against Apple which taxes all apps developers 30% for the privilege of having them in its App Store. Epic Games wanted a special highway, for Apple to waive or reduce that tax. Good people, it is costing that company big time: it lost $30 million in August as it wages a battle against Apple and Google.
Personally, I do think that Epic Games is making a very big mistake. You do not fight this type of battle alone. This is not a lifesaving drug or food: it is just a game. The implication is that politicians and celebrities will not even care. So, the capacity to amplify the heat on Apple is not directly there because NOT playing games is not that a big deal. As Apple countersues, Epic Games will see why own- goals are bad: they set you back: “Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality it is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store”, Apple noted in its filing.
Apple has hit back at Epic Games in its ongoing battle with the gaming company, filing a countersuit Tuesday alleging the company breached its contract with Apple and asking to be awarded punitive damages. The dispute began when Fortnite launched an update that allowed users to pay for in-game content without Apple receiving a cut. The tech giant retaliated by removing the game from its app store; Epic Games sued Apple later that day, and two weeks later, Apple suspended its developer account. Epic has until Sept. 18 to respond to Apple’s countersuit. (LinkedIn)
Epic Games is making a really poor game in this battle with Apple. The fact that other game makers have not joined it should have sent a clear signal by now. According to Epic, its video game has lost 60% of its daily active users since Apple booted the game from its App Store.
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Since Apple confrontation with Epic Games kicked into high gear, the game maker has seen its Apple-based users plunge, Epic said in a legal filing on Friday.
Daily active users of Epic’s blockbuster battle-royale game Fortnite on Apple’s iOS operating system have declined by more than 60% since the tech giant removed the game from the Apple App Store, Epic said in the filing. More than 60% of Fortnite users on iOS access Fortnite only on Apple devices, the video-game company said.
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If you owe your landlord a rent, and yet every Sunday you kill fowl in front of the house, for your Sunday meal; what do you really mean? I am not sure how you gonna convince your landlord that you don’t have money.
Apple is Epic Games’ landlord, Apple knows that Epic Games is making money, yet Epic Games is telling Apple not to collect its full cut? This is ridiculous.
Someone should remind Epic Games that luxury products makers/owners don’t engage in economic activism, you are never going to gain traction, because the people you want to win their sympathy don’t even know what you are talking about. Most of its high paying customers are on Apple platform, no poor man or woman is there, and Epic Games wants to gain attention of politicians? It doesn’t work like that!
Imagine people who buy Ferrari or Rose Royce telling us that they are being extorted, I mean, what are they talking about? This is what Epic Games is doing here, it can as well go into device manufacturing, so that it can own its customers 100%!
Tech giants by virtue of their existence are not structured to tolerate this type of ‘militancy’. Epic is fighting an uphill battle considering Apple owns the platform. After bleeding $30m in one month, the board of epic should be firing whoever brought up the idea to go to war.
I concur -100%. It is simply not a smart move by Epic.