Apple crushes Epic’s app store dreams over CEO’s little tweet

There is a small thing, then tThis is what Apple and Epic Games are complaining about. Apple terminated Epic’s developer account on Wednesday, preventing the company from creating its own Epic Games Store for iOS. Why? All because CEO Tim Sweeney keeps accusing Apple of unfair practices on Twitter/X.

“Apple is retaliating against Epic for speaking out against Apple’s unfair and illegal practices, just as they have done time and time again against other developers,” Epic Games said in a statement. Blog article Wednesday. Apple cited a tweet from Sweeney as one of the main reasons for blocking the Epic Games Store.

So what was it about Sweeney’s tweet that got Apple into trouble? The Epic CEO questioned Apple’s core values. That’s it.

He challenged the company to make some visionary decisions and become the company they advertise as, “a brand loved by consumers, a partner to developers, a dominant player for everyone.” Sweeney criticized Apple’s monopoly in the app store, digital payments and browsers. The Epic CEO ended his tweet with a photo of Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak working on early personal computers.

“We don’t want to think Apple is evil. It’s just too inconvenient.” Paul Graham, founder of the notorious startup incubator Y Combinator, said in a statement. tweet Wednesday. “But I see more and more signs that power has corrupted them.”

back Years of legal dispute between Epic Games and Apple, it looks like the makers of Fortress Heroes are finally getting a chance to make their own app store.European regulators recently passed Digital Market Law, effective this week. The law allows Epic to launch its own gaming marketplace on iOS devices to compete with Apple’s App Store. But Epic Games’ victory is now in jeopardy, all because of a petty tweet.

Apple said Epic “truly cannot be trusted” and is concerned that Epic “does not intend to honor its contractual commitments to Apple.” The comments were made in a letter to Epic dated March 2, 2024, and made public by Epic Games on Wednesday.

In Epic’s U.S. legal battle with Apple, Sweeney testified that his company intentionally violated its developer program agreement with Apple to make a point. Apple requires Epic to prove its credibility before allowing them to develop the Epic Games Store.

According to the blog post, Apple also said Epic Games was a “threat to its ecosystem.” It is unclear how Epic Games’ termination will take effect under the Digital Markets Act. The whole purpose of this legislation is to increase competition and break up monopolies. Epic is proving that Apple is again exerting influence over developers.