Oh wow, yeah, the game is also off the Google play store. iOS + Android is probably close to 50% of the userbase. Epic are losing so much money every single day. At this point they just don't want to put it back with in-app-store mtx, just to save face. Otherwise why wouldn't you put it back onto those two stores? The trial isn't going to be over in a few weeks. It might go on for years.
Trying to repeat the same argument that just lost in front of the same exact judge is bad law. Flat out.
it is more likely Epic expected to fully win the TRO with Epic making 100% of its fortnite money while the case progressed for months into years. Instead the judge agreed that Apple was within its rights to remove fortnite and now Epic is making zero.
More to the point: when the judge and Apple both said that Epic could remove the option and keep the game up on the store, why did they intentionally leave the purchase option in?
If the split is 30% apple would make 3 dollars and epic 7.
But as the judge pointed out, they didn't need to lose all of their iOS revenue in order to challenge Apple's cut in the first place. So if Epic is indeed playing 4D chess here, the explanation would seemingly be that it's for PR as part of their whole #FreeFortnite campaign.
Instead of "just" making 700 million dollars revenue last year Epic decided that they want the full 1 billion dollars.
OK, so Epic is crying for $1. (I know its not a buck but millions upon millions of dollars but you know what I mean). I rather not make a bunch of millions (that I wasn't making before, anyway) than to miss out on MILLIONS of dollars. Then again, that's why I'm not a corporate CFO. 🤷🏽‍♂️
Most of their customers will never hear what judges said to Epic. They will just see on tech sites and twitter that lots of companies like Xbox and Facebook are also saying Apple is anti-competitive. And that's what Epic needs most in some ways. Epic can afford to lose this, but they are investing in a broad industry and consumer price consciousness smackdown against Apple that they hope will get them regulated. Epic didn't make up the antitrust heat that Apple is getting. Apple has been on the verge of getting regulated here for a while, and Epic just is spending in every avenue that helps flip the switch - even if they don't get endlessly favorable rulings in their own case. They are getting the judges to point out that Apple is dominant and has no App Store competition for around half of all Americans. That's a problem for Apple and Epic is moving the needle.
Oh, I know this. But turn the table and imagine that a company that doesn't want to pay the hefty fees that Epic most likely charges to license Unreal Engine takes them to court because Epic is "stifling development with their outrageous licensing fees". I'm with Apple in this one. If you want to play in Apple's house, you need to abide by the rules that everyone else is abiding to or lose all that sweet revenue. But to change the rules JUST for Epic is unfair for the rest of the developers who would use this as a legal basis to want the same treatment from Apple.
They want a side entrance to the bakery with their own signs and menu and access to all of the baking equipment, and they don't want to share the rent, insurance costs, or utility bills.
They are gonna request help from court at every step. It happens in any giant court battle. You file any chance you can to see if the judge will be lenient and set favorable precedent in the case. Epic wants to tip the scale that Apple has been fighting for a while. Apple is on the verge of being regulated and even if Epic doesn't get big self-centered wins, they just need this to influence congress or regulators long term. And now they have tons of companies on record agreeing with them against Apple, and tons of consumers pointing out that Apple has no competitors to help with pricing competition. Epic is definitely getting arguments out there, and the courts themselves have even said they are seeing the issues that may be in question since Apps cannot be bought from anyone except Apple. Apple has been getting heat, and there's no way to say this case hasn't turned up the heat for Apple when it comes to fear of regulation.
I'm framing it like that because this injunction request is specifically done so that they don't have to lose out on Fortnite money while the lawsuit is going on. If we're not going to lake Epic's logic at face value, then what is the benefit to this particular legal move? The lawsuit is already in motion and if they are prepared to lose out on Fortnite money, then they can just do that.
