A week after submitting Epic Games Store and Fortnite to Apple for their required notarization process in the EU, Epic Games accuses the Cupertino company of stalling the launch of its store in the region. According to the platform, Apple rejected the store notarization submission twice, as it claims the “design and position of Epic’s Install button is too similar to Apple Get button” and that the “In-app purchases label is too similar to the App Store’s In-App Purchases label.”
This isn’t the first time Epic Games has complained about Apple’s failure to collaborate on its efforts to release a third-party gaming store for iPhone users in the EU. In March, Cupertino banned for a few days its EU developer account.
The reason behind it was the company’s CEO calling Apple’s compliance with the Digital Markets Act “hot garbage,” “horror show,” and a “devious new instance of Malicious Compliance.” In messages exchanged between Apple and Epic’s CEO Tim Sweeney, Apple’s top executive Phil Schiller wrote: “(..) You also testified that Epic deliberately violated Apple’s rules to make a point and for financial gain (…), and you have complained about what you called “Junk Fees” and “Apple taxes. Please, tell us why we should trust Epic Games this time?”
Still, after a couple of days, Apple reinstated Epic’s account amid pressure from European Union regulators. Now, a few months later, Epic thinks Apple is resenting and is stalling the approval of the Epic Game Store in the EU.
Epic says, “Apple’s rejection is arbitrary, obstructive, and in violation of the DMA, and we’ve shared our concerns with the European Commission. Barring further roadblocks from Apple, we remain ready to launch in the Epic Games Store and Fortnite on iOS in the EU in the next couple of months.”
The company even argues that it’s using “the same Install and In-app purchases naming conventions that are used across popular app stores on multiple platforms and are following standard conventions for buttons in iOS apps.” Epic writes that it’s “just trying to build a store that mobile users can easily understand, and the disclosure of in-app purchases is a regulatory best practice followed by all stores nowadays.”
At this moment, neither Apple nor the European Commission commented on Epic’s claims. BGR will update the story once we learn more.
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