The tirades of Epic Video games CEO Tim Sweeney towards Apple proceed, with Sweeney calling the corporate a “gangster-style” enterprise whereas fully ignoring that his firm additionally expenses builders to make and distribute video games.
The excruciatingly lengthy authorized battles between Epic Video games and Apple over In-App Buying and the App Retailer prompted quite a lot of outcry over how Apple conducts enterprise with builders. Epic Video games finally misplaced the struggle, however an injunction meant that Apple was compelled into enabling exterior buy mechanisms for iOS apps.
After Epic filed a court docket order in March 2024 and complained to the court docket once more a yr later, Tim Sweeney determined to criticize Apple’s practices as soon as extra. As was reported by TechCrunchSweeney spoke at an occasion on Wednesday, the place he largely echoed the language from Epic Video games’ March 2025 grievance.
“The unhappy reality is that Apple and Google are now not good-faith, law-abiding corporations,” mentioned the Epic Video games CEO. “They’re run, in some ways, as gangster-style companies that may do something they assume they will get away with. In the event that they assume that the high quality goes to be cheaper than the misplaced income from an unlawful observe, they all the time proceed the unlawful observe and pay the high quality.”
Apple and Epic Video games have a troubled historical past, with the latter suing the previous over in-app purchases. Epic Video games needed Apple to permit purchases from exterior web sites on iPhone and believed that the Epic Video games Retailer needs to be obtainable to iOS customers.
Whereas the latter solely grew to become a actuality within the European Union, because of the area’s Digital Markets Act, Apple was compelled to permit the purchases of in-game objects by way of exterior web sites within the U.S.
Epic Video games on exterior purchases and Apple’s “scare screens”
iPhone customers in america should purchase in-game objects from exterior web sites, which is the results of an anti-steering injunction. Epic Video games has usually mentioned that Apple did the naked minimal to adjust to this authorized requirement. In its March 2025 grievance, Epic mentioned that Apple’s “Exterior Hyperlink Buy Entitlement Program” was a system that was “purposely designed to fail.”
As a part of Apple’s restrictions, builders cannot interrupt this buy movement to supply exterior choices.
Apple reportedly thought of methods of “severely limiting the location, language, and design of steering choices” to scale back the variety of individuals utilizing them. “Finally, Apple selected the worst of all worlds for customers and builders,” Epic lamented of their grievance. “Apple knowingly doubled down on the chance of violating the injunction to offer most safety to Apple’s income.”
Based on Epic Video games, Apple prevents builders from utilizing “calls to motion” and restricts the location and messaging of buttons that hyperlink to exterior web sites. Moreover, Epic mentioned that Apple’s UX groups designed “full-screen, interstitial warning pages,” that are used when customers faucet an exterior hyperlink.
In its March 2025 grievance, Epic known as these warning pages “scare screens.” Tim Sweeney echoed this sentiment through the use of the identical time period throughout his most up-to-date statements on Wednesday. Epic Video games’ CEO claimed that corporations are “getting away with” what he calls “textbook self-preferencing,” every time these so-called scare screens are used.
“Crime pays for large tech corporations,” mentioned Sweeney. “Clearly, we should not anticipate that to alter till enforcement turns into a lot, way more vigorous,” he added. Epic’s CEO additionally famous that the identical factor utilized to the Epic Video games Retailer in Europe, the place he believes 50 to 60 % of customers are pushed away because of Apple’s warning screens.
Epic’s drawback with Apple’s third-party app retailer charges
One other level of competition has to do with the charges Apple imposes on exterior purchases. Whereas peculiar App Retailer purchases are topic to a 30% charge that goes straight to Apple, purchases made by way of third-party app marketplaces are charged much less. Even so, this nonetheless presents an issue for Epic Video games.
The Epic Video games Retailer is an App Retailer different obtainable within the EU. Picture Credit score: Epic Video games
Based on Sweeney, Apple’s charges are the rationale why no main recreation developer has determined to distribute apps by way of the Epic Video games Retailer within the EU. Builders have apparently largely declined to take part, as they must pay a yearly “Core Know-how Price” of fifty cents per set up. This charge would apply to all apps exceeding a million downloads.
“Except your app is enormously high-grossing per consumer, any free-to-play recreation is basically dissuaded from that,” claims the Epic Video games CEO. “It is too costly for them. Apple would bankrupt them in the event that they did that.”
The fee on exterior purchases is simply too excessive for Epic
Epic Video games can be displeased with Apple’s charges on game-related purchases carried out via exterior web sites. Epic argued that, regardless of Apple taking a 3% charge discount on the charge to 27%, resulting from exterior suppliers dealing with transaction charges and different prices, it could finally price builders greater than utilizing a typical IAP for a transaction.
Tim Sweeney has repeatedly criticized Apple’s charge insurance policies.
Apple’s resolution to impose a charge on exterior purchases was reached via a committee which included CEO Tim Cook dinner, Apple’s then-CFO Luca Maestri, and government Phil Schiller. The latter of the three later revealed he was towards the charge on exterior purchases, indicating that Cook dinner and Maestri overruled his issues.
On Wednesday, Epic Video games’ Tim Sweeney reiterated his firm’s issues over Apple’s coverage and its Exterior Hyperlink Buy Entitlement Program.
Beforehand, whereas discussing a program within the Netherlands that allowed courting apps to make use of different cost processes, together with the same program in South Korea, Epic mentioned that neither program achieved success.
Based on Epic, after ten months of availability within the Netherlands and 4 months in Korea for its applications, just one developer had truly signed up for it. With the related charges, it could have been too cost-prohibitive for big builders to tackle, claimed Epic.
Epic Video games has publishing and distribution charges of its personal
Whereas Epic Video games has been undeniably vocal in its criticism of Apple’s supposedly excessive App Retailer charges, the corporate has its personal charges for builders who want to publish and distribute titles by way of the Epic Video games Retailer.
Epic Video games has an 88/12 income cut up throughout most of its platforms. Picture Supply: Fab.com
Based on the Epic Video games web site, builders might want to pay a $100 submission charge for each recreation they want to distribute on the Epic Video games Retailer. The corporate expenses a 12% charge on all consumer purchases, that means that builders get to maintain 88% of their recreation’s income, in accordance with the Epic Video games Retailer web site.
Builders whose video games use Unreal Engine, one other product developed by Epic Video games, are charged no royalties on purchases carried out via the Epic Video games Retailer. If an app based mostly on Unreal Engine makes greater than $1m in income, then Epic Video games expenses a 5% royalty.
The engine itself is free to make use of for educators and colleges, whereas recreation builders and small companies will not need to pay something till they’ve crossed the $1m income threshold. The Unreal Engine web site lists all the pricing and licensing particulars.
For these seeking to promote digital belongings, Epic has a distribution platform known as Fab, previously referred to as the Unreal Engine Market. Although Epic Video games used to take a 30% reduce in 2017, the Fab web site signifies that Epic now solely expenses a 12% charge. This implies there is a 12/88 cut up, as is the case with the Epic Video games Retailer.
It seems as if Epic Video games has considerably decreased its numerous charges lately, one thing which was maybe influenced by Apple’s long-standing 30% charge insurance policies. Finally, this means that Epic will doubtless stay simply as vocal because it has been about Apple’s place, as the corporate can all the time say its charges are considerably decrease.
