Apple vs Epic Games by Israel Torres
The Apple vs Epic Games court hearing has officially begun as of May 3, 2021. In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock, Epic Games filed a lawsuit back in August, 2020. It all started when Epic Games launched a discounted price of their microtransactions, VBucks. VBucks are used in Fortnite as in-game currency in order to buy cosmetics or Loot Llamas, also referred to as loot boxes. Now, what’s the big deal with giving the consumer a discount on microtransactions? Well, the problem arises when you avoid paying the platformer their fee for all transactions for said platform. See, Fortnite, at one point, was on Apple devices, and offered two ways to pay for VBucks on Apple devices. One being paying full price and allowing Apple to take the cut of the purchase, or pay Epic Games directly with the discounted price. Avoiding the “Apple Tax” is in violation of Apple’s terms of service, so Apple then removes Fortnite from the App Store. Well Fortnite foresaw this attack and launched the #FreeFortnite campaign video the day of the removal of Fortnite. This video targeted Apple for their monopoly of the mobile gaming industry and what they claim to be disadvantages for smaller game developers who are trying to compete against Apple’s own apps. All this led to the recent court hearing. Not much was discussed on the first day besides each company pleading their case. Cravath, Swaine and Moore LLP are representing Epic Games and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher are representing Apple in this case. Ultimately, everyone who has an interest in this case all have the same question, who will win this case? This is a tricky one, as both sides have viable points against one another. If I had to place a bet on who would win, I’d say Epic Games will reign victorious in the end. Due to the fact that Epic Games is known to pull major stunts and having it lay off in the end. Regardless of the winner, no one can’t deny that this lawsuit will change the industry in some shape or form.
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