Tim Sweeney has taken another blow against Apple, this time he has communicated iOS players that even if Fortnite is banned on Apple’s platform, there is still a great battle royale game available, PUBG Mobile.
It’s important to mention that PUBG Mobile is built with Unreal Engine, an engine developed and owned by Epic Games. Apple has removed Epic Games’ developers account from iOS, and has pushed to remove all the Unreal Engine apps from the App Store as developers might opt to follow the same path that Fortnite took with the in-game sale of V-Bucks.
Both companies are losing in the legal dispute, Fortnite, one of the most profitable games ever released has lost a huge platform and will inevitably mean a loss in revenue for Epic Games. Apple, on the other hand, lost 30 percent of all V-Bucks sold in iOS. His pursue of banning Unreal Engine from Apple devices will also see several software developers, not excluded from video-games producers to think twice to invest time and resources in the controversial iOS.
While waiting for Apple to #FreeFortnite on iOS and Mac, here’s another awesome battle royale game powered by Unreal Engine! https://t.co/IZJL1YYUtv
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) August 28, 2020
The whole video-games industry is at shock at Apple’s response to Epic Games, and their push to ban the Unreal Engine from iOS. Some of the heavyweights of the industry such as Phil Spencer has expressed his worry about the situation.
“We filed a statement in support of Epic’s request to keep access to the Apple SDK for its Unreal Engine. Ensuring that Epic has access to the latest Apple technology is the right thing for gamer developers & gamers.”
Apple has terminated his relationship with Epic Games, and there won’t be a game from the developer on the App Store. Currently installed games will still work but won’t receive future updates. Apple’s intention was to remove all Unreal Engine apps from its platform, following a restraining order dictated by the US Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
“The record shows potential significant damage to both the Unreal Engine platform itself, and to the gaming industry generally, including on both third-party developers and gamers,”… “Apple has chosen to act severely, and by doing so, has impacted non-parties, and a third-party developer ecosystem,” said Gonzales Rogers.
Apple suggests the greed of Tim Sweeney, as they affirm that over the years they complied with App Store’s policies.
“They’ve followed [the guidelines] for the past decade until they [Epic Games] created this situation” reads Apple’s statement, ”
Players who already downloaded Fortnite via the App Store can play Chapter 2 – Season 3’s 13.40 update on iOS, however, Apple has banned its users to download future updates, the upcoming Season 4 won’t be present in iOS and players won’t be able to access any new content or the new Battle Pass.
Source: Gamespot
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