Apple reverses course, approves Epic Games for app store in Europe

Apple approved Epic Games’ developer account in Sweden, which will allow the company to offer a competitive app store on iPhones in Europe under a new antitrust regulation, the Digital Markets Act.

Earlier this week, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said that Apple had retaliated against the company for lawsuits and criticism on social media by blocking the Sweden account, citing an email from Apple’s App Store chief Phil Schiller to Sweeney.

The episode was one of the first challenges to the European DMA by one of the tech giants it regulates, and raised questions about whether the law’s fines and sanctions would be enough to curb some of the practices targeted by the law. . Apple’s quick turnaround suggests that European regulators will be able to enforce the law.

“This sends a strong signal to developers that the European Commission will act quickly to enforce the Digital Markets Act and hold gatekeepers accountable,” Epic Games said in a statement.

Apple’s App Store accounts for 30% of game purchases and 15% of most online subscriptions. Before the European DMA, it was essentially the only way to install apps on an iPhone. New regulation forces Apple to allow third-party app stores on iPhones in Europe, but Apple says it can charge half a euro per downloada pricing strategy that has generated criticism from application developers.

European regulators said immediately after Epic’s announcement that they would press Apple for answers about the incident. On Friday, Sweeney said on social media that Apple had allowed Epic Games to launch the store after an investigation by the European Commission.

Earlier this week, Sweeney said that Apple continuing to block the company’s developer account in Europe was atrocious. Schiller, head of Apple’s App Store, wrote a letter to Sweeney asking if he would honor Apple’s contracts in the future (in light of the 2020 lawsuit) and Sweeney said yes. Still, according to emails provided by Epic Games, an Apple lawyer rejected Sweeney’s statement and blocked Epic’s European account.

An Apple spokesperson confirmed that Epic Games’ account had been restored after Epic told Apple it would follow its platform policies.

“Following discussions with Epic, they committed to following the rules, including our DMA policies. As a result, Epic Sweden AB was allowed to re-sign the developer agreement and was accepted into the Apple Developer Program,” a spokesperson told CNBC in a statement.

Epic Games said it would use the account to publish Fortnite for iPhone in Europe, as well as its own Epic Games store.

The conflict between Epic Games and Apple dates back to 2020, when Epic Games updated the shooter game Fortnite to avoid Apple’s 30% cut in App Store sales. Apple expelled Fortnite from its stores and Epic sued in the US to force Apple to open its platform.

Epic mostly lost the lawsuit, but won some concessions under California law.