The European Commission is fining Apple €500m (~$570m) for breaching competition laws – and of course, Epic Games has been quick to celebrate.
The European Commission imposed the €500m fine because Apple is failing to comply with the Digital Markets Act, which states that “app developers distributing their apps via Apple’s App Store should be able to inform customers, free of charge, of alternative offers outside the App Store, steer them to those offers and allow them to make purchases.”
The EC cited “a number of restrictions imposed by Apple” that have stopped game developers and customers from benefitting from alternative distribution and payment channels.
As well as paying that €500m fine, Apple now has 60 days to remove the “technical and commercial restrictions” the EC says Apple has put in the way of greater choice for developers and players.
Epic Games was quick to jump on the decision and hail it as a victory. “Apple’s pattern of malicious compliance must end,” said Epic Games in a blog published shortly after the EC announced the fine.
“Apple is breaking the law by imposing illegal fees, scare screens and restrictions on purchases made outside the App Store.”
It also directed its ire at the other mobile platform holder. “Google is just as bad,” the blog continued. “The European Commission recently released preliminary findings that Google is also violating the anti-steering rules in the DMA.”
Epic continued: “These actions make it all the more urgent that other policymakers in the UK, Japan, Brazil continue to hold Apple and Google accountable. The United States was one of the first countries to introduce mobile app store competition legislation to address these anti-competitive practices that suppress free speech and choice, raise prices and block innovation. Now is the time to follow through.”
Apple had previously announced a set of policy changes designed to satisfy the new EU laws, but was met with a fiery response from leaders across the mobile game business.
“One mobile game publisher CEO told us: “I think it’s terrible – we just put to rest the same sort of horrible Runtime Fee proposal from Unity and now Apple is doing the same. They know better than anyone that this model doesn’t work with free to play and would kill games and companies. So it’s in very bad faith.”
