Something's happening here, and what it is, ain't quite clear. The gauntlet has been officially thrown and now the world's most recognisable game of all time; Epic Games' Fortnite, and two of the biggest tech companies in the world; Apple and Google, are going to war. I mean- doesn't that just sound like the most epic anime showdown of all time? It's like Goku vs Broly, Jotaro vs Dio, Aang vs Ozai, Spongebob vs Squidward; all those times 1.3 trillion. (Apple's estimated value at the time of this writing, for reference.) For a game as big as Fortnite to be cast as the underdog in any situation is eye-turning enough, but for it be in a duel to the death against Apple, I'm sorry but it's popcorn and Marshmallows time. I'm straight itching to watch these titans tear each other apart in the court of law. I'm only sad that it's seemingly impossible for both sides to lose the lawsuit. (Is it? I dunno, LegalEagle hasn't uploaded a video on this yet...)
So you've already heard the news right? Sure you have; but I'm starting from the beginning because I just love to tell a story, even better when it's non-fiction. First off, we have to talk about how App stores work. (I know, exciting stuff) So if you're interested in getting into the ludicrously lucrative world of making a app for mobile devices, you'll have to get used to the fact that it'll be sold on someone else's storefront. Whether you're on IOS or Android, it's a well known truth that you have to play by the rules of Apple or Google respectively in order for your app to sell to the millions of folk around the world with a mobile device. On Android there is the choice to offer your app directly, but it still won't get as much traffic as it would on the Google store installed in most phones, and on IOS you literally cannot use a non-Apple-approved app. (Unless you jury-rig your device, but I don't want to get into that right now.) So basically, the default mobile stores are the toll keepers that every app developer must pay in order to get where they need to, due to the solitary nature of the devices there's no direct competition, and all the bargaining chips are situated solely in the mega tech companies' court. So as you can imagine they exploit the hell out of it and charge a 30% commission on all in-app purchases.
30% is a pretty heft kick to the groin for anyone to get over, and when it's in a nonnegotiable format such as sitting in the hands of a monopolistic entity- well, it's hard not to feel taken advantage of. I mean, that's like if Steam were to start charging 30% commission in order to sell your games on thei- oh wait, they do charge that. (And we wonder why Epic came along...) Obviously, as this is such a bitter pill for the companies to swallow, they practically invariably refuse to eat that cost themselves and instead pass it onto the customers, so that's why things tend to cost a lot more on mobile apps than on the website. (The more you know.) What's more, Apple's terms of service forbid developers from redirecting traffic away from the Apple store in order to circumvent commission, which leads to situations such as with Netflix's mobile app wherein you simply cannot subscribe through the app. They don't tell you why or where you need to go, they just expect you to figure it out. (Luckily Netflix has the brand familiarity to do that, whereas many other brands simply do not.)
It is within this ecosystem and under the purview of these rules that Epic Games chose to function in order to offer the mobile version of their popular Battle Royale; Fortnite. All the game was missing was portability, and with this release came a whole new wave of player engagement and retention for the folks over at Epic to enjoy. Que the claims of Fortnite addiction gripping the youth due to it's accessibility and the, much-more-real, issue of kids playing Fortnite in class with their phones. (I wasn't even allowed my phone in class, what's up with that?) So it was a successful move into a new market, good for them, let's fast forward to today. Not too long ago Fortnite decided to surprise the world with a shocking announcement; the in-game premium currency, V-bucks, would be granted a permanent 20% reduction in price. (Which, seeing as how this is in-game currency who's value is determined solely by Epic games, is pretty much meaningless when you think about it.) So far so nothing, but there was a little change up to the way that the mobile app demonstrated this deal. You see, whereas everywhere else folk would be treated to the discounted price, on mobile they would be greeted with two prices, the original one and the new one, with the more expensive option labelled 'Apple App store'. It was basically Epic showing people an obvious choice and saying "Which would you pick?"
That's ballsy one might say, very alpha; but also completely and undeniably against the rules that everyone else abides by. Thus it was pretty much inevitable that this little stunt would end up with Fortnite getting justly booted from the app store post haste, probably whilst Apple were scratching their heads and going "What did they think would happen?" But 'Oh! You fell into my trap card, Kaiba!', Epic muttered as within moments of getting pulled from the app store they were granted the legal precedent to clap back. Hardly a few minutes after the fact there was a video uploaded to Youtube retelling the classic 1984 parody advert that Apple made in their genesis, only this time with Apple as the grey tyrannical entity and the colourful cast of Fortnite as the liberators. (Very crass and on-the-nose there Epic. Do not approve.) As well as, in a move with a little more weight, a lawsuit filed against Apple by Epic for unfair practises. (Big moves!)
So obviously this whole affair was orchestrated to the nines, with Epic being their same slimy, sneaky selves in order to lure Apple into granting them the basis for a lawsuit. (As their claims wouldn't be nearly as strong without having been personally affected by Apple's policies) But if we ignore the grossly deliberate way that Epic planned all this out, there's an interesting conflict here which has the potential to touch a lot of people. They allege that Apple's iron fist on who gets on their phones is in direct contrast to healthy competition and thus grounds to be forcibly penalised within a court of law. Whatsmore, in offering themselves up as lambs to the slaughter here, Epic have managed to rally App developers behind a shared interest (getting this extortionate commission rate lowered) as well as Apple's customer base. (As There's sure to be plenty of kids absolutely distraught about not being able to play Fortnite for the forseeable future.)
The lawsuit, which was penned suspiciously legible to non-lawyers, feels catered to be as much an impassioned speech as the end of a crappy melodrama as a declaration for legal war. They even make a point to call out Apple's apparent hypocrisy as being a company that said it stood against the stifling of innovation only to become that behemoth all these years later. (Hence the eye-roll inducing Youtube video.) I feel as though the scope of their transgression did get a little bit out of their control, however, as Google also booted them off the playstore, leading to a much less flowery and little more delayed lawsuit thrown Google's way too. So does Fortnite stand a chance? Maybe. Afterall, we are in a political environment of folk who all seem to talk about breaking up the big tech companies, could this be a prime excuse to take a swing at that? We'll have to keep an eye out to see if any independent parties start weighing in on this matter, as I think this has the potential (and I'm sure this is what Epic is going for) to become much bigger than a simple commission dispute. This could be the start of the major curbing of Apple's growth.
So this very much is a David vs Goliath level showdown here today. A real Zuko vs Azula, Joseph vs The Pillarmen, Yugi vs Kaiba, Finn vs The Lich King, situation. (Did Finn ever actually go up against the Lich king? I can't remember.) Now don't get me wrong, there are no heroes in this tale to rally behind. Epic definitely broke the rules in order to fuel this lawsuit, and they're 40% owned by Tencent, so one could construe this as an attack on American business' through a Chinese proxy. But I'm sure Epic would deny that and spout some nonsense about them 'fighting for equality and freedoms' whilst simultaneously smothering the PC marketplace with exclusivity culture, so I'll not accuse anything formal. (You're a real class act, Epic.) At the end of the day, however, when you strip everything away this is just one mega rich corporation taking a swing at another, and in that light I think it's hardly controversial to say 'screw the lot of them and I hope this somehow ends off turning sour for all parties'. But if that, admittedly unlikely, scenario never happens, then I'm fine to just sit back and watch the fireworks like the stereotypical car-crash-watcher that I am.
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