In a new filing, Epic says revocation of its developer tools by Apple will harm the developer ecosystem and adds a declaration of support from Microsoft
the story so far Chris Wallace / MCV/DEVELOP : Microsoft submits statement of support for Epic Games in Apple fight Chris Smith / BGR : Why Epic isn't an innocent victim in the Fortnite battle with Apple, and why it deserves a loss today Andy Walker / Android Authority : Microsoft backs Epic in its fight against Apple Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac : Epic's latest legal filing targets Apple's intent to cut off Unreal Engine, Microsoft joins in support Sean Carey / TrueAchievements : Microsoft files statement in support of Epic Games' legal battle against Apple Chris Barylick / O'Grady's PowerPage : Apple legal filings indicate that Epic Games asked for special App Store deal, similar terms offered to larger developers Shubhankar Parijat / GamingBolt : Microsoft Files Statement in Support of Epic Games Against Apple Usama Jawad / Neowin : Microsoft reprimands Apple in Epic court battle Rajesh Pandey / iPhone Hacks : Microsoft Says Apple Blocking Epic Games' Unreal Engine Would Harm Game Creators Duncan Riley / SiliconANGLE : Epic Games gets Microsoft support as Apple alleges Fortnite maker asked for special deal Nick Chong / NewsBTC : Coinbase CEO: Apple Is Still Blocking Crypto Functionality Ewdison Then / SlashGear : Microsoft supports to keep Unreal Engine in App Store, mum on lawsuit Tyler Lee / Ubergizmo : Apple Claims Epic Wanted A ‘Special Deal’ For Fortnite Scott Bicheno / Telecoms.com : Microsoft joins Epic, Unreal battle with Apple PYMNTS.com : Apple's Fortnite Fight Hurts All Gaming Business, Microsoft Says Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents : Epic practically gives up on Fortnite, prioritizes Unreal Engine in reply brief pushing for temporary restraining order against Apple Adam Rosenberg / Mashable : Microsoft backs Epic Games, says Apple is threatening game development Aaron Mamiit / Digital Trends : Microsoft wades into legal war between Apple and Epic Derek Strickland / TweakTown News : Microsoft warns Unreal Engine cutoff would lead to ‘significant costs’ Rory Young / Game Rant : Microsoft Issues Statement of Support for Epic and Unreal Engine on iOS Dave Lee / Financial Times : Epic says Apple putting developers at risk in games row Alex Calvin / PC Games Insider : Microsoft backs Epic in case against Apple Jon Fingas / Engadget : Microsoft backs Epic's request to keep using Apple developer tools Business Insider : Microsoft just joined Epic Games' fight against Apple, with an Xbox leader arguing that banning the ‘Fortnite’ maker would hurt gamers and video game creators Andy Chalk / PC Gamer : Microsoft backs Epic's request for a restraining order against Apple Jason Snell / Six Colors : Epic to Apple: Don't bring Unreal Engine into this ↦ Paul Thurrott / Thurrott : Microsoft Backs Epic in Fight with Apple Steven Musil / CNET : Apple bullying game developer community, Epic says in filing Kai Powell / Wccftech : Microsoft Issues Statement In Support of Epic Games To Remain On Apple Ecosystem Gabe Gurwin / GameSpot : Microsoft Throws Support Behind Epic Games In Apple Lawsuit Pradeep / MSPoweruser : Microsoft supports Epic in the court battle against Apple Arif Bacchus / OnMSFT.com : Microsoft joins to support Epic Games, says Apple's threat to cut Epic's Unreal Engine would hurt their gaming business Malcolm Owen / AppleInsider : Epic calls Apple's ‘Fortnite’ & developer tool block ‘overbroad retaliation’ Alan Friedman / PhoneArena : Microsoft says that Apple's punishments against Epic will hurt game developers and players Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents : Microsoft supports Epic Games' quest for temporary restraining order against Apple, stresses importance of Unreal Engine Gary Ng / iPhone in Canada Blog : Microsoft's Xbox Backs Fortnite and Epic Games in Apple Lawsuit Giuseppe Nelva / Twinfinite : Epic Games vs. Apple Struggle Continues as Microsoft Joins in Support of Fortnite Creators Tweets: Phil Spencer / @xboxp3 : Today 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 https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/... @alexlindsay : The challenge for Epic: As a “day-one” iPhone user, I view any change to Apple's app model as an existential threat to my way of life. I strongly prefer a closed, secure, well-funded platform. I value the ecosystem far more than any app within it. I don't think I'm alone. Russell Brandom / @russellbrandom : Microsoft has filed a declaration in support of Epic, saying Apple's SDK cutoff would make it impossible to support Forza on the iPhone. https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/... John Gruber / @gruber : @mattyglesias One maddening aspect of this is that the strongarming of developers to add in-app purchase options for things they don't want to add in-app purchases for seems almost wholly unrelated to increase in services revenue for Apple. Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias : Apple's increasingly abusive handling of its App Store partners has not only generated profits, but has seemingly been rewarded by Wall Street with a higher PE ratio — which seemingly has been the purpose of the years long “services narrative” push. https://twitter.com/... LLance / @thellance : Epic vs Apple https://twitter.com/... Steven Sinofsky / @stevesi : Microsoft says Forza is at risk from Apple's Unreal Engine cutoff https://www.theverge.com/... // That time Microsoft argued strongly for cross-platform development... (in declaration https://t.co/...) https://twitter.com/... Paul Graham / @paulg : @tolmasky This is an interesting point, because it makes me wonder: what new thing like the browser isn't happening because of Apple's rules? Francisco Tolmasky / @tolmasky : Remember: Apple's iOS rules would not have allowed for the invention of the web browser. Let that sink in. They would have rejected one of the most important technical innovations in the history of computing. Microsoft's bully tactic of making IE free seems quaint in comparison. Matt Stoller / @matthewstoller : Wow, now Microsoft is going at Apple in the Epic Games case. It's truly a civil war in business. https://www.cnbc.com/... Bob Burrough / @bob_burrough : Microsoft registers its support for a restraining order against Apple https://twitter.com/... Rami Ismail / @tha_rami : I'm all for letting Epic and Apple fight without intervention, but Apple limiting Unreal Engine's access to the platform is obscene even as a corporate “negotiating” tactic and I fully support these efforts in getting access back. https://twitter.com/... Spawn Wave / @spawnwavemedia : Microsoft supporting Epic in stopping Apple from discontinuing support for Unreal Engine on iOS is the obvious move. Too many games are using it for development right now including ones by Microsoft to sit quietly. https://twitter.com/... Dylan Martin / @dylanljmartin : This is quickly turning into one big corporate Kaiju battle. https://twitter.com/... John Gruber / @gruber : @benedictevans @drbarnard Also, the dysfunctional/inconsistent aspects largely stem from the payment policies. Apple could make an awful lot of the complaints just go away by changing only payment policies, leaving the basic sandbox App store model in place unchanged. @pasokongal : This isn't a defense of epic, this is a “we were working on mobile things using unreal engine please god don't take us down with these idiots” https://twitter.com/... @epicnewsroom : Statement from Microsoft filed today in support of our request to keep access to the Apple SDK for Unreal Engine. https://twitter.com/... Michael / @legacykillahd : Microsoft joins in on the fight between Epic Games vs Apple, siding with Epic. Not surprising considering Apple gave a giant F U a few weeks ago to Microsoft's xCloud, by not allowing it on the iOS App Store unless they could review every game & receive 30% of revenue. https://twitter.com/... Mike Beasley / @mikebeas : Well, maybe you should file a statement asking Epic to respect the rules of the program if they want to stay in it. https://twitter.com/... @hardcoremetal89 : Apple isn't going to allow Xcloud after this statement lol. I wouldn't blame Apple to be honest. https://twitter.com/... @ps5lion : Today we filed a statement in support of xbox gamer's request to keep access free for ftp games. Ensuring that xbox gamers have access to the free-to-play games without paywall are the right thing for gamer developers & gamers https://twitter.com/... Brianna Wu / @briannawu : If Apple versus Epic were on Reddit's “Am I the Asshole?” the unanimous verdict would be, “Everyone sucks here.” @grummz : I told you it was likely Epic was going to get other companies to join up in this lawsuit. Here you go. https://twitter.com/... Maximiliano Firtman / @firt : Microsoft, with the Xbox team, support Epic Games at least with the part that Apple should not revoke access to the Apple Developer Program https://twitter.com/... Richard Hoeg / @hoeglaw : Patently absurd. Epic is VERY unlikely to win the TRO they've requested. Full stop. Microsoft may have been wiser to advocate for mandatory resumption of the pre-dispute status quo in support, Not very well thought out from Phil (but very little has been this month). https://twitter.com/... @amandafarough : Making this about Unreal is an important way of ensuring that devs don't get completely screwed in this battle of tech titans. There's a LOT going on with this legal dispute, so please make sure you check out @VirtualEconCast for our analysis. https://twitter.com/... Miguel de Icaza / @migueldeicaza : Microsoft's Gammill's statement of support for Epic vs Apple isn't comprehensive. I would add (d) companies would have to pay to maintain and extend UnrealEngine on their own as the source is available. Which is a lot cheaper than options (a), (b) and (c) - it also creates jobs https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/... Mike Futter / @futterish : This is big. Microsoft filing a brief after its xCloud experience is going to lend some heavy weight to Epic's suit. https://twitter.com/... Rokk / @stadiarokks : Never crossed my mind when Apple said they were pulling the rug, but as so many games are based on Unreal, Apple could literally be closing out a ton of developers and their games not remotely related to Epic or their battle. https://twitter.com/... Paul Haddad / @tapbot_paul : Microsoft's statement focuses on Apple blocking Epic's access to the SDK, not on anything to do with the App Store. Seems reasonable, it's the most egregious action by Apple. https://twitter.com/... Dieter Bohn / @backlon : Literally Microsoft's brief in defense of Epic casts aspersions on “click-through, non negotiable contracts” and proceeds to argue about whether their contents are applicable. Maybe there should be a limit on what Agree to Continue checkboxes can do. https://www.theverge.com/... Dieter Bohn / @backlon : I mean, for the first time ever somebody has read and understood the iTunes terms of service. https://twitter.com/... @advances : Or Epic could have done like all other developers and followed the rules but unfortunately Epic thinks they are special and don't need to follow the same path as others. FUCK Epic I hope there stupidity costs them there company. https://twitter.com/... Chet Faliszek / @chetfaliszek : Interesting as there are many smaller players with the same complaint as Epic or who will be hurt by this but both MS and FB are affected but both have their own 30% gardens... https://twitter.com/... Florian Mueller / @fosspatents : EpicGames practically gives up on #Fortnite, prioritizes #UnrealEngine in reply brief pushing for temporary restraining order against #Apple http://www.fosspatents.com/... #antitrust #appstore #ios #ndca #freefortnite Andrew Freedman / @hedgeyecomm : Tim Cook reading this e-mail before forwarding to $AAPl legal department. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...