Update, July 5, 1:50 p.m. PT: Apple has told IGN that it has now approved the Epic Sweden AB Marketplace app and has asked Epic to address the similarity issue in a future submission. Epic Games confirmed this with an update on its X/Twitter account, which you can see below.
Update: Apple has informed us that our previously rejected Epic Games Store notarization request has now been accepted. https://t.co/tl5LY1aQD6
— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) July 5, 2024
Previous story as follows:
Fortnite developer Epic Games has taken Apple to the European Commission over its refusal to bring its game store to the EU, Epic said in a statement on X/Twitter on Friday.
In the X/Twitter thread, which you can read below, Epic says that Apple rejected its game store’s notarization submission twice. Apple’s reason, Epic says, is the similarity between the Epic Game Store’s “Install” and “In-App Purchases” buttons and Apple’s “Get” and “In-App Purchases” labels.
1/3 Apple has now rejected our request for Epic Games Store notarization twice, claiming that the design and position of Epic’s “Install” button too closely resembles Apple’s “Download” button and that our “In-App Purchases” label too closely resembles the App Store’s “In-App Purchases” label.
— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) July 5, 2024
3/3 Apple’s rejection is arbitrary, obstructive, and in breach of the DMA, and we have shared our concerns with the European Commission. Unless Apple puts up further obstacles, we remain ready to launch on the Epic Games Store and Fortnite on iOS in the EU in the next few days…
— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) July 5, 2024
However, Epic claims that Apple’s rejection is “arbitrary, obstructive, and in violation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA)” and that the company is following standard conventions to make the Epic Game Store easy to understand for users.
“If Apple encounters no further obstacles, we still stand ready to launch the game in the EU on the Epic Games Store and Fortnite on iOS in the coming months,” Epic added.
Epic announced earlier this year that it would be bringing back its digital storefront and Fornite to iOS in Europe. That’s largely thanks to the EU’s Digital Markets Act and resulting changes to Apple’s policy, which allowed third-party companies to launch their own storefronts on the App Store.
Today’s statement is just the latest in an ongoing regulatory feud between Apple and Epic, with Epic taking aim at Apple over the 30% cut it takes on in-app purchases. It led to a high-profile antitrust lawsuit in 2021, with the legal battle continuing over the years.
Epic’s case could be one of the first to shed light on how Apple and other major companies affected by the DMA are handling the regulations. In March, EU regulators opened investigations into Apple, Google and Meta for failing to comply with the DMA policy. In June, it was revealed that Apple would be the first company to be charged over the matter.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor at IGN, overseeing entertainment coverage. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.