It turns out that Apple has suspended the developer account of Epic Games, which repeatedly criticizes Apple, as ``untrustworthy''



Epic Games, the developer of the popular game 'Fortnite,' has reported that its developer account with Apple has been suspended. In addition, Epic Games revealed that a letter sent from Apple stated, ``We cannot trust Epic Games, which criticized Apple's Digital Market Act (DMA) measures.''

Apple Terminated Epic's Developer Account - Epic Games

https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/apple-terminated-epic-s-developer-account

Apple kills Epic's iOS game store plans over App Store criticism - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/6/24092158/epic-apple-developer-account-terminated-digital-markets-act-alternative-ios-app-store

In order to comply with the EU's DMA, Apple has allowed users to download apps from third-party alternative app stores only in the EU starting with iOS 17.4.

Alternative app stores will finally be released from iOS 17.4 in compliance with EU regulations, but Apple warns - GIGAZINE



Alternative app stores can only be provided by approved developer accounts and by providing Apple with a standby letter of credit of at least 1 million euros (approximately 160 million yen) issued by a financial institution with a class A rating or higher, or You must have an app with over 1 million annual installs on iOS in the EU in 2023.

Epic Games was approved as an alternative app store developer under the developer account of Epic Games Sweden AB, a Swedish corporation, and was proceeding with plans to release the Epic Games Store and Fortnite for iOS.

It turns out that 'Epic Games Store' for iPhone is under development for release in the second half of 2024, and Fortnite will be able to be played on iPhone again - GIGAZINE



However, Epic Games reportedly received a notice from Apple in February 2024 that it may not be able to approve the critical developer account, and Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said that the email he received from Apple and the email he sent to Apple. We are publishing the text of our replies and inquiries.



In the letter, Apple executive

Philip Schiller cited the following post by CEO Sweeney on X (formerly Twitter) and condemned the radically critical comments against Apple's DMA measures.



'Given Epic Games' past practice of intentionally violating contract terms, your various criticisms of Apple's DMA compliance plan are a strong indication that Epic Games Sweden AB has no intention of following the rules,' Schiller said. 'Intentional violations of these terms can threaten the integrity of the iOS platform as well as the security and privacy of our users.' Please explain in easy-to-understand terms.'

In response to the letter, CEO Sweeney said, 'Epic Games and its subsidiaries are acting in good faith and will comply with all current and future agreements with Apple. We also provide further details regarding the subject matter you wish to discuss. We are happy to provide a warranty to Apple.'



However, on March 2, I received an email back from Apple saying, ``Apple would like to inform you that we have terminated Epic Games Sweden AB's developer program membership effective immediately.'' ``In the past, Epic Games has Sweeney has criticized Apple's terms, including the Developer Program License Agreement, as a prelude to the breach. His responses were completely inadequate and unreliable. ``Apple may not be responsible for any or all of Epic Games' wholly owned subsidiaries, affiliates, and other entities under Epic Games' control.'' 'Apple has the contractual right to terminate it at any time in its sole discretion.'



In its blog, Epic Games said, ``Many of the apps distributed on the App Store use Unreal Engine,'' ``We have released many games on the App Store to date,'' and ``Unreal Engine 5.4 is based on Apple. It claims that it has had a cooperative relationship with Apple for more than 10 years, such as 'experimental support for Vision Pro', and that Apple's claims are unfair excuses.

Epic Games also said, ``By suspending Epic Games' developer account, Apple has eliminated one of its potential App Store competitors. By discouraging them, we're showing what happens when you try to compete with Apple or criticize Apple's unfair practices. 'No reasonable developer would consider using an alternative app store if they tried to forcefully remove it from the app store,' he said, strongly criticizing Apple.

in Software,   Web Service, Posted by log1i_yk