Even though Apple decided to reduce its cut of app store sales to 15% this year, Epic Games is continuing to fight the company in a bid "to advance fairer digital platform practices for developers and consumers." The latest shot fired in this battle is an antitrust complaint filed in the European Union (EU).
Epic claims Apple has managed to eliminate competition both in app distribution and payment processes through what the company describes as "a series of carefully designed anti-competitive restrictions."
"What’s at stake here is the very future of mobile platforms." Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney explained. "Consumers have the right to install apps from sources of their choosing and developers have the right to compete in a fair marketplace. We will not stand idly by and allow Apple to use its platform dominance to control what should be a level digital playing field. It’s bad for consumers, who are paying inflated prices due to the complete lack of competition among stores and in-app payment processing. And it’s bad for developers, whose very livelihoods often hinge on Apple’s complete discretion as to who to allow on the iOS platform, and on which terms."
Epic already has similar complaints filed in the US, UK, and Australia, and points to Apple retaliating against the company trying to offer Fortnite players an alternative payment method on iOS by blocking the app. The company also points to Apple denying Epic's bid to launch the Epic Games Store on iOS, but then proceeding to launch its own game distribution service called Apple Arcade.
Regardless of how weak or strong Epic's case is, Apple will be forced to defend itself, potentially across multiple courts around the world. In the meantime, such action acts as a constant reminder of the position Apple holds as the gatekeeper to the App Store.