Epic Games Wins Against Apple, Google in Australia App Store Case
Well, this is interesting. Epic Games just scored a point in its ongoing battle against Apple and Google. An Australian court has determined that Apple and Google acted unfairly in how they run their app stores. Apparently, they abused their power in the app distribution market to stifle competition, according to ABC News.
While the judge agreed that Apple and Google weren't exactly playing fair, he didn't buy Epic's argument that their behavior was completely outrageous. Epic Games, as you probably know, has been on a mission to challenge the fees that Apple and Google charge for in-app purchases across the globe.
Earlier this year, Epic had a big victory against Apple in the US, leading to Fortnite's comeback to the App Store after being gone for five long years. Now, with this ruling in Australia, we might see a similar outcome. Tim Sweeney, the head honcho at Epic Games, hinted that the Epic Games Store and Fortnite could be making a return to the Apple App Store in Australia pretty soon.
Google, on the other hand, isn't thrilled with the decision. A spokesperson mentioned that they disagree with the court's view on their billing practices and some of their past partnerships. They did, however, appreciate that the court didn't side with Epic on the idea of distributing app stores from within the Google Play Store, or on weakening security measures.
Apple also chimed in, telling ABC News that they believe their app store is the safest place for users to download apps. Naturally, they disagree with the court's take on some of Epic's claims. It seems like this whole app store saga is far from over, and I'm curious to see how it all unfolds. It really makes you think about the power these companies have and how it impacts us, the users. For example, if they collude to limit the number of competitors, it could result in higher prices.
Source: TechCrunch