Fortnite Epic Games maker publicly criticized Apple on Friday after its latest proposal for a competing iOS app store was rejected by the smartphone maker. The company said, on X that the app’s rejection came after Apple said Epic’s app store design too closely resembled its own.
This decision is a consequence of Epic’s attempt to submit last week, the iOS version of the Epic Games Store launched, allowing iPhone and iPad users to download games to their devices without having to visit Apple’s App Store.
“Apple’s Rejection Is Arbitrary, Obstructive, and Violates DMA” [Digital Markets Act]”Epic said Friday in a statement posted to X, adding that the company has already shared its concerns with the European Commission. Apple has rejected Epic’s Game Store notarization application — the process by which apps are submitted to the company for review — twice in the past week, Epic spokeswoman Elka Looks told WIRED.
The case is part of a broader battle over who will control 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, up-to-date EU rules, to allow alternatives to its app store on European iPhones and iPads from March.
“Apple has previously rejected our Epic Games Store notarization application twice, arguing that the design and positioning of Epic’s “Install” button is too similar to Apple’s “Download” button, and our “In-App Purchases” label is too similar to the App Store’s “In-App Purchases” label,” the company said.
Epic explained that its naming conventions mirror Apple’s because it “tried to build a store that mobile users can easily understand.” Apple did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
There is more than 100 million people using Apple’s App Store in the EU. The launch of the Epic Games Store would give these users the ability to choose where to download apps from for the first time.
It’s the moment that lawmakers have been eagerly awaiting, saying the tech giants are stifling competition by blocking rivals from accessing their users. “The launch of an alternative app store on Apple’s system would be a huge demonstration that DMAs 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 control over the iOS market was “unreasonable and unlawful.” Apple emerged (mostly) victorious in the U.S. case. But in Europe, Epic has become part of a vocal community of developers who are enraged about the power they believe Apple’s App Store has over their businesses and the commission it takes on in-app purchases.
“Apple keeps app vendors in check like the mafia,” Matthias Pfau, CEO and co-founder of encrypted email provider Tuta, told WIRED earlier this year. Epic’s proposed alternative app store 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. The company now plans to continue its efforts to approve the iOS version, as it stated: “If there are no further obstacles from Apple, we are ready to launch on the Epic Games Store… on iOS in the EU in the next few months.”