Apple caused quite the hullabaloo after it terminated Epic Games’ developer account on Wednesday. A couple of hours ago, the tech giant relented and reinstated it.
A brief update posted earlier today to Epic’s blog states that Apple has told Epic and also “committed to the European Commission” that it would reinstate the account. This means Epic can proceed with its plan to bring its Epic Games Store and flagship game Fortnite back to iOS in the EU this year.
Apple’s decision to terminate Epic’s developer account quickly attracted the attention of the EU, which told TechCrunch that it “requested further explanations on this from Apple under the DMA”. The bloc had also hit Apple with a €1.8bn fine earlier this week for stifling competition in the music streaming business through its App Store rules.
Apple also sent a statement to The Verge, 9to5Mac and other outlets citing Epic’s previous behaviour for the termination.
Apple said: “Epic’s egregious breach of its contractual obligations to Apple led courts to determine that Apple has the right to terminate ‘any or all of Epic Games’ wholly owned subsidiaries, affiliates, and/or other entities under Epic Games’ control at any time and at Apple’s sole discretion.’ In light of Epic’s past and ongoing behavior, Apple chose to exercise that right.”
That has now been reversed. Epic’s latest update reads:
“Apple has told us and committed to the European Commission that they will reinstate our developer account. This sends a strong signal to developers that the European Commission will act swiftly to enforce the Digital Markets Act and hold gatekeepers accountable. We are moving forward as planned to launch the Epic Games Store and bring Fortnite back to iOS in Europe. Onward!”
Epic also published letters and emails exchanged between Tim Sweeney and Phil Schiller earlier this week, which suggested that Apple’s decision was partly to do with Sweeney’s very public criticism of the tech giant.
