Epic Games’ legal battle with Apple over its ban on third-party payment systems for App Store apps has cost it more than $100 million in legal fees alone, though the lost revenue was much greater, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney told Business Insider.
Image Source: MacRumors
«”We can’t say exactly how much we would have made on iOS, but in the two years we’ve been on the platform, Fortnite has made about $300 million on iOS. So you could project hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue as a result of the struggle,” the Epic Games CEO said.
He said it was “easy to assume” that the total cost of lost revenue for Epic Games was a billion dollars or more, based on lost revenue from iOS users and lost revenue from people not playing because their friends with iOS devices weren’t able to because of Apple’s restrictions.
Following a ruling by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers, who is presiding over Epic Games’ antitrust lawsuit against Apple, Apple was forced to change its App Store guidelines for developers to allow apps to include links to third-party payment systems.
Earlier this week, Apple announced that it had filed an appeal of the court’s decision with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. However, the developers are now celebrating a victory that was funded by Epic Games, MacRumors noted.
Sweeney told Business Insider that Epic Games will take advantage of Apple’s new policy “later this week” and bring Fortnite back to the U.S. App Store. He confirmed that Epic Games has informed Apple of its plans.
Epic Games also plans to launch Epic Games Store Webshops this year, a feature that will allow developers to host digital storefronts on the Epic Games Store. Webshops will be free for developers making less than $1 million per app per year, with Epic charging a 12% commission for larger developers.