Epic claims Apple abused its ‘dominant position’ in removing Fortnite from the App Store

‌Epic Games‌ says Apple’s decision to remove Fortnite from the App Store was illegal, and it wants Apple to allow Fortnite back into the British ‌App Store‌, according to Bloomberg.

The complaint, filed with the U.K. antitrust tribunal, also claims that Apple abused its “dominant position.” Epic makes three specific claims of anti-competitive practices in the filing: Apple reserving itself as the sole channel for app distribution on iOS; using its dominant position to charge “unfair prices” for distribution; and Apple’s response to Epic’s introduction of “price competition.”

This is all part of an ongoing legal battle between Apple and Epic. On Aug. 13,2020, Epic Games announced that it had introduced a new direct payment option in the Fortnite app for iPhone and iPad, allowing players to purchase 1000 V-Bucks for US$7.99 rather than $9.99 through Apple’s in-app purchase mechanism. Shortly thereafter, Apple removed the gamer from the App Store for violating store polices and followed up by shutting down the company’s developer account.  Epic immediately filed a lawsuit against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

In September 2020 Apple filed a countersuit to stop the game maker from using its own payment system for Fortnite. Apple also accused Epic of theft and sought extra monetary damages beyond breach of contract.