Epic initially kicked off the disagreement last week by bypassing the cut of sales that Apple takes from Fortnite V-Bucks purchases through the App Store, which led to Apple removing Fortnite from the store. Apple are now threatening to terminate Epic’s developer program account on August 28th, which would prevent Epic from developing updates for their Unreal Engine game development software relevant to iOS devices. Epic have published the temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction request that they’ve filed. In it, Epic argue that because they believe they’re likely to win the initial suit against Apple, the court should maintain the status quo by preventing irreparable harm to Epic’s business caused by Apple in the interim. Regardless of its legal viability, Epic’s concern for Fortnite isn’t exactly emotionally compelling. As Alice 0 noticed last week, the quick sequence of events that kicked off the scuffle between these two Goliaths suggests that it was premeditated on Epic’s part. Even if they consider the cause a good one, they likely knew that Fortnite would be collateral damage in the short term. Granted, they are right that Fortnite’s removal leaves players in the lurch. Epic’s argument over the Unreal Engine, however, is more sympathetic. Not only are Unreal Engine and Fortnite separate products in Epic’s stable, but disrupting Unreal development will likely have negative impact on those who are not party to the suit—other developers currently using Unreal to develop iOS applications. With any luck, a decision on Epic’s injunction request will be the last visible jostle before both companies quietly get down to specifics behind closed doors for a year or more. I doubt we should be so lucky though. If not that, I’ll at least hope that whatever decision the court makes will prevent harm to other developers who are just trying to do their dang jobs beneath Epic and Apple’s giant feet. Save Baby Yoda, right?
