Apple has started another fight with Epic Games and this time it’s really nasty.

The market already knowns that Apple is a mean vengeful Company, who likes to get their own way, like the local bully on the block, now they have taken new action against, Epic Games who they appear to despise because they have caused the big iPhone maker so much grief in Europe with the US Justice Department tipped to also investigate Apple business practises after complaints by the Fortnite maker.

Overnight Apple moved to stop Epic Games from opening its own app store for iPhone customers in Europe, a move the Fortnite maker says is a response to its criticism of the tech behemoth and a breach of sweeping new antitrust rules in the region which Apple is struggling to come to grips with.

Apple terminated Epic’s development account, preventing the gaming company from bringing Fortnite and the Epic Games Store to Apple’s iOS devices in the EU and this has got Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney riled which is exactly what Apple management wanted to happen.

The only problem is that European Union officials are not happy and are now investigating Apple’s latest move.

Epic claims that the move is a “serious violation” of the European Union’s new Digital Markets Act, which aims to increase competition in the industry.

Sweeney in an X post claims that Apple’s plan to thwart Europe’s new Digital Markets Act law is a devious new instance of Malicious Compliance.

They are forcing developers to choose between App Store exclusivity and the store terms, which will be illegal under DMA, or accept a new also-illegal anticompetitive scheme rife with new Junk Fees on downloads and new Apple taxes on payments they don’t process.

Apple proposes that it can choose which stores are allowed to compete with their App Store.

They could block Epic from launching the Epic Games Store and distributing Fortnite through it, for example, or block Microsoft, Valve, Good Old Games, or new entrants.

The Epic Games Store is the #7 software store in the world (behind the 3 console stores, 2 mobile stores, and Steam on PC). We’re determined to launch on iOS and Android and enter the competition to become the #1 multi-platform software store, on the foundation of payment competition, 0%-12% fees, and exclusive games like Fortnite.

Epic has always supported the notion of Apple notarization and malware scanning for apps, but we strongly reject Apple’s twisting this process to undermine competition and continue imposing Apple taxes on transactions they’re not involved in.

“There’s a lot hotter garbage in Apple’s announcement. It will take more time to parse both the written and unwritten parts of this new horror show, so stay tuned” Sweeney claimed.

Epic Games management then published a blog post that included a shared a letter sent by Apple’s lawyers that called Epic Games “verifiably untrustworthy,”

They claim that the ban was due to fear on Apple’s part that Epic would not comply with the contractual agreements inherent to obtaining a developer’s account.

It’s worth noting that Apple granted Epic a developer’s account at the beginning of this year, so the company didn’t have any compliance fears back then.

Sweeney says that Apple technically complies with the DMA, but severely undercuts third-party app stores in several ways.

Apple is milking billions from their App Store ever quarter.

Third-party app stores must meet Apple’s notarisation requirements, with all its tight rules regarding moderation, piracy, fraud and payment disputes.
Apple has the right to shut down any app if it finds anything that skirts these rules.

Additionally, developers must pay a Core Technology Fee once an app has been downloaded more than a million times, which breaks down to around 54 cents per install each year.

Would-be developers must also share a letter from a top financial institution with proof it has access to at least $1.1 million in credit to handle potential financial disputes. There’s also a flat commission on every transaction, which ranges from 15 to 30 percent.

After Sweeney complained openly about the new app store rules, Apple’s Phil Schiller sent Epic Games an email on February 23 to ask for “written assurance” that the company would fundies its commitments. “In plain, unqualified terms, please tell us why we should trust Epic this time,” the letter concludes.

Sweeney responded that “Epic and its subsidiaries are acting in good faith and will comply with all terms of current and future agreements with Apple, and we’ll be glad to provide Apple with any specific further assurances on the topic that you’d like.” This didn’t seem to satisfy Apple, as it went on to pull the developer’s account this week.

Epic responded that the move undermines its “ability to be a viable competitor” and that Apple’s “showing other developers what happens when you try to compete” or are “critical of their unfair practices.” The developer calls the ban a simple retaliation “against Epic for speaking out against Apple’s unfair and illegal practices.”

According to Engadget, Apple has a different take on things. It laid the blame on “Epic’s egregious breach of its contractual obligations” in a statement published by 9to5Mac. The iPhone manufacturer went on to say it has “the right to terminate any or all of Epic Games’ wholly owned subsidiaries, affiliates, and/or other entities under Epic Games’ control at any time and at Apple’s sole discretion. In light of Epic’s past and ongoing behaviour, Apple chose to exercise that right.”

Despite all of this bad blood, the developer still plans on bringing Fortnite to iOS, likely via an unaffiliated third-party storefront. It’s also bringing experimental support for the Unreal Engine to Apple Vision Pro.

The latest development involves the DMA, a law that designates large companies as “gatekeepers” and specific services, like Apple’s App Store, as “core platform services.” The law forces these services to become interoperable with competing products to remain in compliance. This is why Apple’s allowing third-party app stores in the first place.

In the USA he Department of Justice, is reportedly considering its own antitrust case against Apple.