Apple says “the problem Epic has created for itself is one that can easily be remedied” if they revert to comply with the guidelines they agreed to

“The problem Epic has created for itself is one that can easily be remedied.” — Apple has responded to Epic Games' latest salvo …

The Verge 2020-08-18 Sam Byford

Context & Ripple Effects

Epic breached Apple's in-app payment rules by adding direct payments to Fortnite, and Apple struck back on two fronts: removing Fortnite from the App Store and threatening the developer tools Epic needs for iOS and Mac work. Same-day coverage shows Apple moving to revoke that tooling permission, which Epic says would take Unreal Engine off Apple platforms entirely — an escalation aimed at Epic's broader business, not just Fortnite.

Apple's statement frames the door as open: revert to the guidelines Epic agreed to and the problem is solved. The framing matters because it sets up the dueling-narrative fight that follows — a month later Apple argues in a filing that Epic "started a fire" and its injuries are self-inflicted.

First-order effects

Fortnite stays off iOS and Epic faces loss of its Apple developer account, putting Unreal Engine's iOS and Mac support at risk — leverage Apple is explicitly holding over Epic's head.
Epic's only stated path back into the App Store is full reversion to the guidelines it deliberately violated, which would mean abandoning the direct-payment move that started the fight.

Second-order effects

Apple's "easily remedied" line hardens into policy: a year later it still refuses reinstatement unless Epic agrees to play by the same rules as everyone else, showing the offer was never a negotiation but an ultimatum.
The developer-account threat turns every other iOS game maker using Unreal Engine into a potential collateral victim, raising the stakes of Apple's enforcement beyond one company's storefront rebellion.

Third-order effects

The standoff outlives the original dispute: by 2024 Apple is still dictating terms to Epic over App Store submissions (asking Epic to fix buttons in its store app, which Sweeney vows to fight), and by 2025 Apple is complying with a court injunction while appealing it — platform-gatekeeper power now contested through years of litigation rather than resolved by either side blinking.
If courts keep forcing App Store concessions Apple opposes, the guideline-compliance-or-exile model gives way to court-supervised terms — a structural shift in how platform rules get written.

The trend: Platform gatekeeping disputes are migrating from private enforcement (remove the app, revoke the tools) to multi-year litigation where courts, not the platform, set the rules.

Discussion

@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Apple statement on terminating Epic's developer account: “We won't make an exception” https://twitter.com/...
@benthompson Ben Thompson on x
Hmm, Apple already fixed the Fortnite “problem” by removing it from the App Store. Demanding they proactively upload a new version in order to keep their developer certificate feels...like an exception https://twitter.com/...
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
The idea that forcing Fortnite to add an extra 30% to cost of IAPs protects their customers is the sort of greed masquerading as altruism the tech press has let Apple get away with for years. Same as their privacy narrative which is really about shifting ad revenue to IAP/subs. h…
@johnpaczkowski John Paczkowski on x
Amazing: “the problem epic has created for itself is one that is easily remedied” https://twitter.com/...
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Epic Games says Apple is terminating their developer account and will cut them off from developer tools on August 28th
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
“But this is just App Review's normal response” ...should it be, though? None of this should be normal. We're numb to it as developers in the ecosystem, but Apple completely cutting developers off from tooling & distribution, beyond malware reasons, is insane
@mgsiegler M.G. Siegler on x
Update: Apple is playing thermonuclear war while Epic is playing Fortnite. https://twitter.com/...
@iansherr Ian Sherr on x
NEW Statement from Apple: It wants to keep Epic and its tools in the app store, if not for Epic breaking the rules. https://twitter.com/...
@tha_rami Rami Ismail on x
*popcorn continues but like chewing more carefully now* https://twitter.com/...
@herf Michael Herf on x
Apple called f.lux in 2015 and said they would revoke our ability to make f.lux for >5M Macs if we didn't take down our iOS sideload. At the time these were governed by separate license agreements. It's so important what Epic and @TimSweeneyEpic are doing. https://twitter.com/...
@rsa @rsa on x
Wait did Apple tell Fortnite that in a fortnight they will be deleted? Damn that's subtle but savage. https://twitter.com/...
@necolas Nicolas on x
Apple decides to double down. When is the EU going to step in to put an end to Apple's indefensible App Store practices? This goes far beyond gaming... https://twitter.com/...
@duckybtw DuckyTheGamer on x
We are literally witnessing the end of mobile. This is so sad epic has let their greed cloud their judgement. It's been a fun ride 🤝 https://twitter.com/...
@patrickmoorhead Patrick Moorhead on x
I don't know what Apple is becoming, but when you look at how it treats its chip/IP suppliers and now ecosystem partners, I have a hard coming up with a characterization. Apple didn't think it deserved to be testifying on the Hill, but now it's evident it needs more scrutiny. htt…
@reneritchie Rene Ritchie on x
Apple returning the volley with a cross-court slice: 1. We want to keep you, Epic. 2. But you did this to yourself. 3. So update, fix your messy, and come back. 4. Or it's time to go make Electron apps. (Very loosely translated. Humor != endorsement.) https://twitter.com/... http…
@quill18 @quill18 on x
I love my MacBook Pro and use it every day — and I'm a big fan of lots of UX and other aspects of Apple. I don't play Fortnite or care about it any way. But this is a such a bullshit small-dick-energy “we want to retain all control over payments” by Apple. https://twitter.com/...
@peterpham Peter Pham on x
Nuclear option has been invoked https://twitter.com/...
@migueldeicaza Miguel de Icaza on x
I am shocked, SHOCKED that after you break a legal contract and then go on to flaunt with a massive PR blitz how you broke your contract that you are not entitled to the benefits that such contract have you. https://twitter.com/...
@benhuh Ben Huh on x
When was the last time we saw something this nuclear on a software platform? https://twitter.com/...
@mcclure111 Mcc on x
Any attempt to assert your legal rights against the abusive monopoly will be met with massive retaliation by way of abusing that same monopoly https://twitter.com/...
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
All credit to Apple, despite this ugliness, they've made it clear that Epic is free to turn off alternate payments and get back in the App Store at any point they want (as is SOP). Epic will just have to make a decision before its... fortnight... is over
@migueldeicaza Miguel de Icaza on x
When Facebook broke the contract, Apple also revoked their certificates. What Facebook did was a little more weasel-y, which allowed them to save face and avoid harsher measures.
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
This seems odd. It was obvious Apple would pull Fortnite. Today, maybe it thinks pushing out payment code after store approval was dishonesty. But blocking iOS Unreal development seems like an unintended consequence. https://twitter.com/...
@i0n1c Stefan Esser on x
So what gov will step in first to solve the AppStore problem? Lawmakers so far have totally ignored the problems arising from hardware being bound to AppStore of one vendor. And it would be easy to regulate that vendors have to let everyone develop software for their platform. ht…
@brij Brij Singh on x
So many subplots here: Apple vs developers, Apple vs Epic AND Apple vs Tencent! https://twitter.com/...
@elidourado Eli Dourado on x
LOL. Epic deliberately violated Apple's developer terms and now is asking a court to stop Apple from closing their developer account. Whoops. 🍿🍿🍿🍿 🍿🍿 https://twitter.com/...
@tomwarren Tom Warren on x
Apple threatening to boot Epic Games' dev tools off iOS and Mac. This means developers would be forced to stop using Unreal Engine as Apple won't let Epic support it. This tells you everything you need to know about Apple the big old bully. https://twitter.com/...
@stephennellis Stephen Nellis on x
In Epic's filing, CEO Tim Sweeney says Fortnite has 350 million registered users. https://twitter.com/...
@dangillmor Dan Gillmor on x
1. Epic willfully violated its “agreement” with Apple. 2. Apple's absolute control over the iOS marketplace — and its abuses of developers who have no alternative — shouldn't be allowed. 3. Trump regime enforces antitrust solely for political reasons. 4. Apple likely wins. https:…
@slightlylate Alex Russell on x
Now imagine a world where Apple hadn't cut off the web at the knees and the things we regularly do on Android were possible, e.g.: WebGL 2, WASM threads (soon), Audio Worklets, large media storage, prompted PWA install, push notifications — not to mention the upcoming stuff... ht…
@rjonesy Ryan Jones on x
Apple continues with the nuclear method. Hopefully behind the scenes they aren't. I imagine Apple wins the injunction (Epic agreed to these rules) so Epic's account will be terminated in 14 days. https://www.macrumors.com/...
@zhugeex Daniel Ahmad on x
Apple removing Fortnite from the app store, for bypassing Apple's payment system, is one thing. But removing Epic's developer tools impacts Unreal Engine as a whole and the ability to support games using it. Could even impact developers, even those on Apple Arcade. https://twitte…
@briannawu Brianna Wu on x
2/ People have forgotten this, but Epic are the people Apple regularly calls to show off the graphical prowess of their devices at Keynotes. Hell, even Fortnite was announced at an Apple keynote. That's because Unreal is a drastically more sophisticated gamedev tool than Xcode
@briannawu Brianna Wu on x
This is disastrous. This means the various games Apple promotes in their keynotes like Tomb Raider will soon be broken on iOS and your Mac. This is so consumer hostile I can't even process it, to say nothing of the devs who are caught in the middle. https://twitter.com/...
@zhugeex Daniel Ahmad on x
Remember that the entire lawsuit is about changing Apple's monopolistic practices in regards to iOS. Right now, Apple is within its rights to remove Fortnite from the app store for breaking ToS. But going after Unreal Engine as a whole, with an impact on developers, is not good.
@heyheyesj Eric Scott Johnson on x
Apple is fighting with Epic, the company that makes Fortnite, over how much money they make from what Fortnite players spend — OK, fine! But this would punish the creative professionals who use Epic's Unreal Engine and who have chosen to buy Apple hardware. Big self-own. Bad move…
@panzer Matthew Panzarino on x
Unity watching apple and epic trade flaming bags of dog crap https://twitter.com/...
@eriqgardner Eriq Gardner on x
Also, Epic tells the judge that Apple is cutting off access to a development tool that has been used to generate VFX for Star Wars series “The Mandalorian,” helped brain surgeons prepare for challenging operations, and been used to televise the Olympics: https://www.documentcloud…
@lazerwalker Em Lazer-Walker on x
Unreal and Fortnite are apparently on the same developer program. This is, uh, a big deal for UE4. https://www.macrumors.com/...
@patrickklepek Patrick Klepek on x
Epic now says Apple will be terminating its developer accounts, effectively ending ongoing development of Unreal Engine for iOS and Mac, later this week. Apple has not yet publicly commented, and Epic is seeking the courts to prevent this from happening. https://www.vice.com/...
@backlon Dieter Bohn on x
Does Apple know that the EU, state AGs, and congress can ...see it, right? https://twitter.com/...
@gartenberg Michael Gartenberg on x
And Apple escalates the stakes of this conflict. Soon we all be forced to take sides. Apple or Epic? Is there anyway to diffuse this? https://twitter.com/...
@rdrv3 @rdrv3 on x
most if it's just dev docs for exhibits, but actual argument is still ~50 pages, which is absolutely ridiculous. They clearly had this ready.
@ow @ow on x
Oof. Epic did a great job of demonstrating how broken the App Store is, but it was inevitable that Apple would make an example of them. https://twitter.com/...
@rdrv3 @rdrv3 on x
epic's request for a TRO is 197 fucking pages long https://twitter.com/...
@martinsfp Martin Sfp Bryant on x
This seems a... pretty bad move for Apple in the long run. https://twitter.com/...
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
“Apple doesn't retaliate” https://twitter.com/...
@paultassi Paul Tassi on x
Apple now attempting to nuke Epic from orbit https://twitter.com/...
@ifiremonkey @ifiremonkey on x
My tweets made it into a lawsuit, lmao https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@kaepora Nadim Kobeissi on x
Sad to see Apple finalizing its transition into a full-of-shit company in the same caliber as Google and Facebook. I used to say that it was the one big tech company I wouldn't mind working at one day. Not anymore. https://9to5mac.com/...
@northmantrader Sven Henrich on x
Monopoly power is awesome https://twitter.com/...
@davidperel David Perel on x
Am I the only one who thinks Epic is losing this fight? https://twitter.com/...
@tailosivetech @tailosivetech on x
Yeah for the record, this was in the Apple Developer Contract. Epic knowingly broke the contract therefore terminating their account is completely in the legal right https://twitter.com/...
@speedkicks @speedkicks on x
With so much game dev focused on mobile for the sake of ease and ROI, Unreal losing the ability to promise IOS+Android mobile packaging would be huge. This is the most entertaining battle of billion dollar companies I've ever seen lmao https://twitter.com/...
@briannawu Brianna Wu on x
2/ If I were running a game the studio right now I wouldn't even bet on Unity continuing to work. Apple and Epic were best friends for years, and they just nuked everything developed with those tools. You can't count on Apple to support anything but Xcode.
@briannawu Brianna Wu on x
I think the bottom line is there's no future for game development on Apple platforms that doesn't involve Xcode. Xcode is great for a lot of things, but it's not great for building things at work anywhere outside of the Apple ecosystem. And it's not great for making AAA games.
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
I guess I should point out that implicit in this part of Apple's response to Epic is that Apple is threatening to pull any kind of first-party Unreal Engine support for Apple's AR headset. Depending on what its SDK looks like, that could mean no Unreal Engine at all https://twitt…
@elidourado Eli Dourado on x
@binarybits It's not retaliation, it's enforcing the terms of their developer agreement.
@binarybits Timothy B. Lee on x
@elidourado If I'm reading this correctly, they retaliated against Epic breaking their rules for Fortnight on iOS by cutting them off from being able to develop Unreal Engine and other products on macOS? Doesn't that seem abusive to you?
@alexhern Alex Hern on x
I was vaguely worried that the switch to Apple Silicon would finally kill gaming on the Mac but I guess Apple didn't want to leave it up to chance https://twitter.com/...
@wongmjane Jane Manchun Wong on x
At this point, Epic might need to think about making their own gaming console https://twitter.com/...
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
Luckily Apple hasn't pissed off Microsoft, Amazon, Spotify, Valve, Google, Facebook, Netflix recently... ...oh. 😅 It wouldn't be hard to form a coalition if everybody wasn't so scared of how Apple would react https://twitter.com/...
@dylanbyers Dylan Byers on x
I wrote this morning that Apple's real problem re: Epic Games is that Epic is “creating a bandwagon for other companies to jump on.” https://link.nbcnews.com/... Now, @nickwingfield & @alexeheath report that Epic is formalizaing the bandwagon building effort... https://www.theinf…
@s8mb Sam Bowman on x
What Epic is really calling for in its lawsuit against Apple: the Windows model, for smartphones. https://www.ben-evans.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@pakman David Pakman on x
Apple has apparently decided it no longer needs 13-24 year old gamers on any of its devices. https://twitter.com/...
@techleadhd TechLead on x
Apple is racist against programmers. https://twitter.com/...
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Apple: “We very much want to keep the company as part of the Apple Developer Program and their apps on the Store.” https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@lapcatsoftware Jeff Johnson on x
Glad to see someone else pointing out that the iTunes Music Store was the model for the App Store, not retail or consoles. The $0.99 comment was a bit puzzling, though, because that was the price of songs, and it wasn't the price of software until *after* the race to the bottom. …
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
The app store model was a central part of the smartphone revolution, bringing safe software to billions of people. The trouble is, it also means Apple aren't pirates anymore - they're the navy, the port and the customs house. So when do regulators step in? https://www.ben-evans.c…
@eric_sink Eric Sink on x
Apple tends to claim that it doing what is best for users, and there is a lot of truth there, but not all of its policies pass the altruism smell test. 6/10
@rockcock64 @rockcock64 on x
Ok, so there may not be a good guy in Apple vs Epic, but there is absolutely a badder guy. It's Apple. Apple's the badder guy. https://twitter.com/...
@bzamayo Benjamin Mayo on x
IMO in a matter of days Epic will relent and remove the direct payments feature to get Fortnite back on the App Store. Their stunt served its purpose and them backtracking doesn't relieve any of the pressure off of Apple.
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
Two key points on Apple vs Epic that @stratechery brings up 1. Developer & user experience is made worse by Apple's policies that force apps to give them a 30% cut (convoluted UIs, features unavailable, etc) 2. For a $2T company, Apple's greed is unseemly https://stratechery.com/…

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