The ongoing war between Epic Games and Apple just became more heated.
According to a statement from Epic, Apple plans to cut the company’s access to iOS and Mac development tools, which could have major implications for the Unreal Engine.
In a tweet announcing legal action, an Epic Games Twitter account states: “Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and has informed Epic that on Friday, August 28, Apple will terminate all our developer accounts and cut Epic off from iOS and Mac development tools.”
Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and has informed Epic that on Friday, August 28 Apple will terminate all our developer accounts and cut Epic off from iOS and Mac development tools. We are asking the court to stop this retaliation. Details here: https://t.co/3br1EHmyd8
— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) August 17, 2020
Epic responded by filing a temporary restraining order against Apple in order to ask the courts to stop the alleged retaliation.
Apple declined to comment on the allegations when contacted by Digital Trends, repeating its statement from last week, which refers to “App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users.” It also accused Epic Games of violating the terms with “express intent.”
Epic Games didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Digital Trends. We will update this story when we hear back.
In the legal paperwork, Epic alleges that upon termination from the Apple Developer Program, Epic will also lose access to an extensive list of “programs, technologies, and capabilities.”
The action would not just be limited to apps, according to Epic. The legal document notes that Apple’s decision would “attack Epic’s entire business in unrelated areas” by cutting off access to the Unreal Engine.
That list specifically mentioned not just tools and capabilities related to apps for the App Store. but also included matters related to the Unreal Engine, including “engineering efforts to improve hardware and software performance of Unreal Engine on Mac and iOS hardware.”
The Unreal Engine is widely used by third-party developers for mobile games. If Apple’s decision holds up in court, Epic argues that it could cause irreparable harm to the graphics engine’s viability.
