The company’s conflict, especially with Apple, stems from Epic not wanting to pay the standard 30% commission on mobile game revenues and preferring to use its own Epic Games Store on iPhone. It all started when Fortnite was blocked for iOS in 2020 and has not been restored in the US since.
Although Epic has made some progress thanks to the Digital Markets Act in Europe, the company has not received legislative support in the US. In August 2021, Epic launched its store on iPhone in the European Union and on Android devices, but users complained about issues with launching Fortnite due to incorrectly displayed screens, which deterred up to 50% of users.
Therefore, Sweeney is willing to spend “billions” but aims to achieve freedom primarily on iPhone. In an interview with gaming publication IGN, Sweeney stated that he has no regrets, although he has spent significantly. According to him, Epic Games has introduced a new program allowing third-party developers to release mobile games on the Epic Games Store platform with an 88/12 revenue share for payments processed by the store and 0% for third-party payments.
As the source notes, about 20 games are currently available on mobile devices, and new ones will be added every month until the release schedule shifts to weekly by the end of the year. To attract developers to the platform, Epic Games pays Apple’s “controversial technology fee (CTF)” for all games and developers participating in the free games program on iOS and iPadOS devices.
