As Apple takes on games developer and Fortnite creator Epic, UK technology editor Alex Hern describes a battle of the tech titans that could reshape the app industry
The video game Fortnite has become a cultural phenomenon in recent years with up to 100 million users a month logging in to play the free online game. They parachute down on to an island with 99 other players and the last one standing is the winner.
But for users of iPhones and iPads, the wildly popular game has been unavailable ever since it was ejected from the App store. It followed an attempt by Epic, the maker of Fortnite, to offer its own payment service for players, with a 20% cut in cost if they decided to bypass Apple’s in-app purchases. Epic’s founder, Tim Sweeney, has long been vocally critical of Apple’s requirement that the company pay 30% of its iPhone revenues as fees for selling in-game currency.
