Epic Games" previously announced plans to launch an iOS version of its Epic Games Store have been blocked, at least for now, by Apple. The reason is that the developer account for its Sweden subsidary, which the company said had been previously approved by Apple, has now been terminated.
In a blog post, Epic said one of the reasons Apple gave for pulling its developer account was that Epic was publically critical of Apple"s plans to abide by the European Union"s Digital Markets Act. Epic also said that Apple called the company "a threat to their ecosystem". Epic points out that Apple has released Epic-developed games on its iOS App Store since 2010.
That includes two games available on Apple Arcade, and even adding experimental support for its Unreal Engine for Apple"s recently released Vision Pro mixed reality headset.
Apple previously said it would allow third-party app stores on its iOS devices in the European Union starting this week. In today"s announcement on the postponement of the Epic Games Store for iOS, Epic stated:
In terminating Epic’s developer account, Apple is taking out one of the largest potential competitors to the Apple App Store. They are undermining our ability to be a viable competitor and they are showing other developers what happens when you try to compete with Apple or are critical of their unfair practices.
Epic also showed copies of its emails and letters with Apple"s lawyers about the termination of its developer account. In the final letter, dated March 2, Apple"s lawyers stated it was "rightly concerned" that Epic Games "does not intend to adhere to its contractual commitments to Apple."
Epic concluded its blog post by stating it will "continue to fight to bring true competition and choice" to Apple"s iOS devices in the EU and also worldwide.