Epic says Apple removed its iOS developer account, hampering its app store plans, and shares a letter from Apple lawyers calling Epic “verifiably untrustworthy”

The Verge 2024-03-07 Jon Porter

Context & Ripple Effects

Epic’s account dispute with Apple revives a conflict that previously put the company’s Apple-platform tooling at risk: in 2020, Epic warned that a proposed revocation could disrupt Unreal Engine’s ability to work on Apple platforms. Apple ultimately terminated Epic’s App Store account while an alternative account remained for Unreal Engine management.

The renewed account removal matters because Epic says it constrains its planned app-store effort, turning developer-account access itself into the immediate point of leverage rather than just App Store distribution terms.

First-order effects

Epic’s ability to pursue its iOS app-store plans is immediately impaired if it cannot use the removed developer account.
Apple’s lawyers’ characterization of Epic as “verifiably untrustworthy” makes the account decision an explicit trust-and-contract dispute, not merely an operational delay.

Second-order effects

Epic may need to separate its store ambitions from the developer access used to support its other Apple-platform activities, echoing the earlier arrangement in which a separate Apple account managed Unreal Engine.
Other developers weighing challenges to Apple’s platform rules gain a concrete example of how account status can affect a challenger’s ability to execute, beyond the rules being contested.

Third-order effects

If account access becomes a recurring instrument in platform disputes, the practical boundary between enforcing developer agreements and limiting rival distribution will face greater scrutiny.
The episode points toward platform governance becoming a competitive variable in its own right: developers’ ability to build alternative channels can depend on continued access to the gatekeeper’s technical credentials.

The trend: This is one data point in the widening struggle over whether mobile-platform operators can use developer-account control to police conduct while would-be rivals seek alternative distribution paths.

Discussion

@burr86 Abe Hassan on threads
this is some pretty El*n M*sky behavior from Apple, just in formal legalese rather than memes on twitter. and on top of that, it's not because Epic did something that violated the terms, it's that Apple thinks they might in the future? what the actual fuck. https://www.theverge.c…
@gergelyorosz_ Gergely Orosz on threads
“Apple said one of the reasons they terminated our developer account only a few weeks after approving it was because we publicly criticized their proposed DMA compliance plan.” Most devs w an Apple dev account don't dare say ANYTHING negative of Apple. https://www.epicgames.com/…
@gergelyorosz_ Gergely Orosz on threads
Dare criticize Apple and they can (and, sometimes, will!) remove you from their platform as a developer. They just did this w Epic! I cannot remember even Microsoft being this much of a bully back in the 90s. Apple became the very thing they fought against in 1984. Shameful.
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on threads
This is hilarious. Epic *did* lie to Apple and break the developer agreement, deliberately and openly, as a PR stunt, and now Apple says that means it can't be trusted to run a third party app store. https://www.theverge.com/...
@hughesish Jack Hughes on threads
Built a Trojan horse App Store competitor into their game app bundle and submitted it to Apple in known violation of the developer terms of service they agreed to. “How dare they call us untrustworthy!”
@chancehmiller Chance Miller on threads
Apple's statement to 9to5Mac on its decision to terminate (again) Epic Games' developer account: “Epic's egregious breach of its contractual obligations to Apple led courts to determine that Apple has the right to terminate ‘any or all of Epic Games’ wholly owned subsidiaries, af…
@stroughtonsmith … Steve Troughton-Smith on mastodon
We are all, as developers, signed up to and subject to Apple's illegal agreement, to the detriment of us, our families, our products and our users. And almost none of us have the resources to challenge any part of that developer agreement without risking all of the above. — “B…
@stroughtonsmith … Steve Troughton-Smith on mastodon
“But Epic broke the rules” is not a defense of Apple's behavior. As per the EC, Apple's developer agreement contains clauses that are now and always have been *illegal*. Epic ‘broke’ the terms of an illegal contract in order to, among other things, test its legality in court an…
@stroughtonsmith … Steve Troughton-Smith on mastodon
From the EC ruling against Apple a day ago: “Any person or company affected by anti-competitive behaviour as described in this case may bring the matter before the courts of the Member States and seek damages. [This constitutes] binding proof that the behaviour took place and wa…
@jamesthomson@mastodon.social James Thomson on mastodon
Can I simultaneously think that Epic are a bunch of chancers, while also really disliking Apple's handling of them? Yes.
@elkmovie@mastodon.social Michael Love on mastodon
@stroughtonsmith If Apple doesn't want to have to have a business relationship with Epic, a great way to achieve that would be to do what every other platform maker has done for decades, and allow companies to distribute apps without going through Apple. …
@stroughtonsmith … Steve Troughton-Smith on mastodon
Putting Phil Schiller in charge of the App Store is going to be a hundred billion dollar mistake that all-told leaves Apple with a pile of legal, perhaps criminal, liability and a raft of draconian regulations around the world that massively compromise the iOS experience. This w…
@stroughtonsmith … Steve Troughton-Smith on mastodon
“Apple said one of the reasons they terminated [Epic's] developer account only a few weeks after approving it was because we publicly criticized their proposed DMA compliance plan” — It is time for Apple's App Store leadership to go.
@timsweeneyepic Tim Sweeney on x
This is the post Apple cited when banning the Epic Games Store from competing with the iOS App Store under Europe's new DMA law. Criticism of Apple = untrustworthiness, in Apple leadership's bleak vision of their future relationship with app developers.
@alexguichet Alex Guichet on x
This is a terrible move by @Apple. Apple has a troubled past with gaming and I'm still not convinced they take this art form seriously enough. I'm not exactly an Epic fan, but Epic should be allowed to be a real competitor for gaming on the platform.
@pitdesi Sheel Mohnot on x
@paulg Apple does all kinds of evil monopolistic stuff. But Google does all kinds of incompetent stuff and makes worse products 🤷🏾‍♂️
@florian4gamers Florian Mueller on x
There's an entertaining side to the Epic-Apple dispute when you see Phil Schiller telling Tim Sweeney Apple can't trust Epic because the latter publicly calls Apple's new fee structure “Junk Fees” etc. But it's still a serious legal issue with cross-jurisdictional implications.
@keleftheriou Kosta Eleftheriou on x
Apple's devious & malicious DMA compliance plan is a hot garbage horror show with junk fees and Apple taxes. There, I said it. Will Apple terminate my account too, now? [image]
@dhh @dhh on x
If you've become Android curious after Apple's latest descent into darkness, I can highly recommend the Samsung S24+. It's an excellent phone, the screen is sublime, it's lighter than an iPhone, and the Snapdragon gen 3 runs Fortnite amazing. Give it a try with an open mind.
@georgebsocial George Broussard on x
It's clear that Apple's actions against Epic are punitive and meant to make an example of Epic. Apple moves from benevolent overlord to Tyrant. By stepping on Epic, Apple is saying “You could be next. You *will* be next.” therefore silencing developers and any form of dissent.
@drbarnard David Barnard on x
Apple can and has crushed many developers. As has Amazon many sellers. As has Walmart many wholesalers. As has Google many websites. As have banks many borrowers. As have investors many startups. And on and on. Companies wielding power over partners, suppliers, licensees, and...
@timsweeneyepic Tim Sweeney on x
Thanks to everyone who is speaking up against Apple blocking Epic from competing with their App Store. On PC, we've served over 270,000,000 customers, so the victims of Apple's competition bans include hundreds of millions of future customers on iOS who are deprived of better de…
@keleftheriou Kosta Eleftheriou on x
Unreal. At this point it seems like Apple is trying their best to trigger the wrath of the EU.
@mysk_co @mysk_co on x
This is not only about Epic Games Store. This also means that #EpicGames cannot distribute #Fortnite on any alternative app marketplace in the EU. It's a total ban. Without an Apple Developer account, developers cannot submit apps to Apple for notarization. [image]
@openwebadvocacy @openwebadvocacy on x
This madness is why we can't trust Apple to be the sole arbiter of what apps users are allowed to install on their own devices. Apple's ridiculous malicious compliance means they need to be first in the DMA enforcement firing line. https://www.theverge.com/...
@migueldeicaza Miguel de Icaza on x
I made the mistake of doing business once with Tim Sweeney and he screwed us. I would not leave him unattended in my living room with a sharpie, let alone do business with him again. If you are curious, you can dig up the twitter history and http://archive.org.
@keleftheriou Kosta Eleftheriou on x
Apple's DMA fines are going to be Epic
@klonick Kate Klonick on x
THIS @paulg: “We don't want to think about Apple being evil. *It would be so inconvenient.*” As someone who studies these companies, the comparative outrage over Meta/TikTok/socials v. Apple is amazing to me Apple is the North Korea of tech companies. 1/
@appfairness @appfairness on x
.@Apple terminated @EpicGames' developer account the same week the DMA is set to go into effect. This egregious move is clearly intended to scare & deter ALL developers from criticizing @Apple's anticompetitive practices and trying to compete. Learn more: https://appfairness.org/…
@ashleygjovik Ashley M. Gjøvik on x
Apple enjoys retaliating against people for reporting Apple's violations of federal law & when people try to get Apple to stop violating US law, & then Apple blames it on the person's social media posts Its a good thing someone already filed a RICO lawsuit against Apple about it
@firt Maximiliano Firtman on x
🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ Evil Apple continues operations
@paulg Paul Graham on x
Apple just terminated Epic's developer account, and they admitted that this tweet was one of the reasons. We don't want to think about Apple being evil. It would be so inconvenient. We don't want to switch to Android. But I see ever more signs that power has corrupted them.
@eric_seufert Eric Seufert on x
It's hard for me to envision how Apple's EU platform adaptations will be viewed as compliant with the DMA, much less its actions in this particular case: Apple has terminated Epic's EU developer account, meaning it cannot publish the Epic Games Store on iOS.
@florian4gamers Florian Mueller on x
@eric_seufert I think it is more likely than not that Epic will get an EU court ruling that it is allowed to build an iOS app store. But it will take time. And it's not a slam dunk because of a final (after all appeals) U.S. court ruling that says Apple has the right not to work …
@keleftheriou Kosta Eleftheriou on x
Epic's past actions did not threaten “the security and privacy of users”, nor did they ever “threaten the integrity of the iOS platform”. The only thing ever threatened was Apple's monopoly rent-seeking.
@arthurb Arthur B. on x
@paulg Why don't “we want to switch to Android”? It's such a better platform. You get to have a little computer as opposed to some kind of fridge appliance.
@epicnewsroom @epicnewsroom on x
Apple has terminated our developer account and now we cannot develop the Epic Games Store for iOS. This is a serious violation of the EU's Digital Markets Act. We will continue to fight to get back on iOS! https://www.epicgames.com/...
@eshear Emmett Shear on x
Ugh. As Paul says, it would be *so inconvenient* to switch away from iOS to Android. But at some point the ecosystem just isn't trustworthy. My fear here is that Google is no better, and they'll implicitly conspire like they have on App Store take rate.
@dhh @dhh on x
Apple is speed-running the fastest destruction of goodwill with developers I've ever seen in 40 years of computers. It took Microsoft much longer to poison the pond in the 90s. It's really a sad sight.
@mpawlo Mikael Pawlo on x
Wow, @vestager is going to have a field day with this. What was Tim Apple thinking?
@ballmatthew Matthew Ball on x
Jan 25: Apple announces new EU app store policies to comply with DMA, Epic announces Fortnite to return Feb 16: Apple gives Epic a developer account in Sweden, Epic announces its store will launch in EU Mar 6: Apple terminates Epic's dev account, citing criticisms of policies
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
@lutherlowe ... !!
@tomwarren Tom Warren on x
Epic was planning to launch its own third-party app store on iOS in the EU, but Apple has terminated its developer account. Apple's lawyers say Epic is “verifiably untrustworthy.” Looking forward to hearing what the European Commission thinks about this https://www.theverge.com/.…
@lutherlowe Luther Lowe on x
This is INSANE. Apple has killed Epic's developer account as retaliation over @TimSweeneyEpic's tweets. https://www.epicgames.com/... [image]
r/pcgaming r on reddit
Apple Terminated Epic's Developer Account
r/gaming r on reddit
Apple Terminated Epic's Developer Account
r/LinusTechTips r on reddit
Apple Terminates Epic Games' Developer Account
r/apple r on reddit
Epic says its iOS game store plans are stalled because Apple banned its developer account
r/apple r on reddit
Apple terminated Epic's developer account
r/technology r on reddit
Epic says its iOS game store plans are stalled because Apple banned its developer account

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