You might think Epic Games’ primary business is video games or video game engines, but as it turns out, it’s fast becoming “filing lawsuits.” Yes, Epic has apparently now filed suit against Apple in an Australia federal court, compounding the ongoing feud between Epic and Apple over Epic’s August decision to sneak a third-party payment system into the AppStore/Google Play versions of Fortnite and force Apple and Google to ban the game – and provoke litigation.
But thus far, that litigation has been in the US. The new filing in Australia takes a slightly different angle; instead of arguing merely that Apple is engaging in generally monopolistic antitrust behavior, Epic alleges that Apple is in breach of Australia’s specific consumer laws.
Epic’s Tim Sweeney told The Sydney Morning Herald that it picked Australia on purpose because of its strong consumer protections and large mobile industry, arguing that Aussie devs “suffer dearly by Apple and Google’s 30 per cent tax.”
Apple has already said it will fight back against Epic, which Apple says “made pawns of customers,” according to the Herald’s coverage of the new suit.
In other Apple news, the company is angling to look more indie-friendly, as this week it announced the App Store Small Business Program, aimed at app developers who pull in less than a million dollars a year. The program essentially reduces Apple’s cut of the profits, down to a 15% commission, on sales for those companies. Companies that make over a million dollars in proceeds every year will still see a 30% cut diverted to Apple.
