Epic Games announced on Wednesday that it has lodged an antitrust complaint against Apple with the European Commission, which is the executive branch of the European Union.
In a complaint lodged with the commission’s directorate – general for competition, the Fortnite developer said the 30% cut Apple is taking on App Store purchases is competitive.
Epic said that Apple did not completely harm competition in the distribution of payments and payment processes.
The European Commission told CNBC that it had received the complaint and that it would review it on the basis of its standard procedures.
Epic launched its own in-app payment system last summer to try to avoid paying the 30% commission Apple receives from in-app revenue. In response, Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and revoked Epic’s developer license.
“Epic has activated a feature in its app that has not been reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent to violate the App Store guidelines applicable to each developer and protect customers,” he said. Apple said in a statement shared with CNBC. . “Their reckless behavior has made customers pioneers, and we look forward to making that clear to the European Commission.”
Apple also claims to have helped its App Store developers turn their ideas into apps, adding that Epic was one of the most successful developers in the App Store and that it had grown into a multi-million dollar enterprise reaching millions of iOS customers. .
Epic has also lodged complaints with competition regulators in the US and Australia and taken Apple to the UK’s competition tribunal.
The two companies will fight it in a US court in May and Apple CEO Tim Cook has been ordered to attend a seven-hour deposit.
“What’s at stake here is the future of mobile platforms,” Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said in a statement. “Consumers have the right to install apps from sources they choose, and developers have the right to compete in a fair market. We will not stand still and allow Apple to use its platform dominance to create a level playing field. to be. “
Sweeney added: “It’s bad for consumers who pay high prices due to the overall lack of in-store competition and payment processing in the app. And it’s bad for developers, whose livelihoods often depend on Apple’s full discretion over who to order. on the iOS platform and on what terms. “
Epic is not the only company to have complained about Apple’s App Store. The giant of the music stream Spotify has filed a complaint alleging that Apple unfairly reduced its revenue, while Rakuten’s Kobo subsidiary and the messaging program Telegram also complained about the cut Apple is taking on its e-book sales.
The European Commission launched an investigation last year into whether Apple violated competition laws by allowing app developers to use its in-app payment system.
Apple claimed victory in the U.S. on Tuesday when North Dakota voted in favor of a bill that would regulate app stores.
The North Dakota Senate voted 36-11 not to pass a bill requiring app stores to allow software developers to use their own payment processing software and to charge fees charged by Apple and Google , to avoid.