Apple has terminated Epic Games’ newly reinstated developer account after learning that Tim Sweeney, Unreal Engine creator and Epic Games CEO, has been publicly criticizing the company on X/Twitter as part of an ongoing feud, one in which he alleges Apple to be a monopolist that is unfairly trying to get rid of its biggest App Store competitors. Epic Games says that this is a serious violation of Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), a new law that went into effect in 2023 to ensure a fairer and more contestable market place.
Epic explained:
Apple said one of the reasons they terminated our developer account only a few weeks after approving it was because we publicly criticized their proposed DMA compliance plan. Apple cited this X post from this thread written by Tim Sweeney. Apple is retaliating against Epic for speaking out against Apple’s unfair and illegal practices, just as they’ve done to other developers time and time again.
The post in question:
Apple leadership faces some massive decisions in the coming weeks as the contradictions between their stated principles and the intended and actual consequences of their present policies are reckoned with: the app store monopoly, the digital goods payments monopoly, the tax, the… pic.twitter.com/mUxV5ypwcd
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) February 26, 2024
The full word from Sweeney:
Apple leadership faces some massive decisions in the coming weeks as the contradictions between their stated principles and the intended and actual consequences of their present policies are reckoned with: the app store monopoly, the digital goods payments monopoly, the tax, the suppression of true information about competing purchasing options, the blocking of competing web browser engines and outright destruction of web apps.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Apple is a few bold and visionary decisions away from being the company they once were and that they still advertise themselves to be: beloved brand to consumers, partner to developers, and overlord to none.