Fortnite Creator Epic Games publicly lashed out at Apple on Friday after its latest proposal for a rival iOS App Store was rejected by the smartphone maker. The company said on X that the rejection came after Apple claimed the design of Epic's app store was too similar to its own.
The decision comes in the wake of Epic’s attempt to submit an iOS version of the Epic Games Store last week. The move would allow iPhone and iPad users to download games to their device without having to visit Apple’s App Store.
“Apple's rejection is arbitrary, obstructive and in violation of the DMA [Digital Markets Act],” Epic said in a statement released on X on Friday, adding that the company had already shared its concerns with the European Commission. Apple has rejected Epic’s Game Store notarization application — a process by which apps are submitted to the company for review — twice in the past week, Epic spokesperson Elka Looks told WIRED.
The case is part of a wider battle over who gets control of the apps available to hundreds of millions of people. In a blow to the U.S. giant, Apple has been forced by the Digital Markets Act, new EU rules, to allow alternatives to its own-brand app store on European iPhones and iPads since March.
“Apple has now rejected our request to notarize the Epic Games Store twice, claiming that the design and position of Epic's 'Install' button is too similar to Apple's 'Get' button and that our 'In-App Purchases' label is too similar to the App Store's 'In-App Purchases' label,” the company said.
Epic explained that the naming conventions aligned with Apple's because the company was “trying to build a store that mobile users can easily understand.” Apple did not respond to WIRED's request for comment.
There are over 100 million people using Apple’s App Store in the EU. The launch of the Epic Games Store would give these users a choice of where to download apps for the first time.
That moment is eagerly awaited by lawmakers who argue that the tech giants are stifling competition by blocking rivals' access to their users. “The launch of an alternative app store within the Apple system would be a huge demonstration that the DMA can stimulate competition and thus lower prices for consumers,” Andreas Schwab, a member of the European Parliament who helped negotiate the DMA, told WIRED.
Epic and Apple have long been rivals. In 2020, Epic filed a lawsuit against Apple in California, arguing that the company’s grip on the iOS market was “unreasonable and unlawful.” Apple emerged (largely) victorious in the US lawsuit. But in Europe, Epic has become part of a vocal community of developers angry about the power they see Apple’s App Store wielding over their businesses and the commission it charges for in-app purchases.
“Apple holds app providers hostage like the mafia,” Matthias Pfau, CEO and co-founder of encrypted email provider Tuta, told WIRED earlier this year. Epic’s alternative app store proposal is a test case for the possibility of other alternative app stores that could change the relationship between Apple and developers.
The Epic Games Store is already available on PC, Mac, and Android, but not on Google Play. Now the company plans to continue seeking approval for its iOS version, it said: “Provided Apple encounters no further obstacles, we still stand ready to launch the Epic Games Store… on iOS in the EU in the next few months.”
