Epic Games CEO calls Apple App Store a 'disaster to developers'

According to MacRumors, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said Apple's App Store, which has helped app makers earn more than $260 billion since its launch, is a "hurt" to developers, forcing them to treat their apps as "Substandard".

Sweeney made the remarks in an exclusive interview with the Financial Times, where he repeated Epic Games' earlier talking points about Apple and how Apple is "anti-competitive" and "monopoly". Sweeney said Apple "wins fairness" in persuading customers to buy its hardware, but claims it's unfair to force customers to use their App Store‌.

A typical problem that arises here is the monopoly relationship. Starting with hardware, Apple deserves to make smartphones and make money from them. But then Apple forced buyers to use their App Store for digital content. They prevent other app stores from competing with them on hardware owned by a billion end users. This is the first shackle, and it completely blocks all the competition and market forces that will shape a better App Store and better consumer transactions.

According to Sweeney, "Apple has used its fairness in hardware to gain an unfair advantage over competitors and other markets. This breaks all the competitive dynamics that have kept the tech industry healthy in the past."

Sweeney criticized the ‌App Store‌ for being a platform in and of itself, saying that while Apple tried to market it as a service, it was actually "a disservice to developers." Sweeney said: "The App store is not a service. The App store is a disservice to developers. It forces developers to treat their software sub-par, give customers a sub-par experience, and drive up the price of digital goods by charging uncompetitive processing fees. "

Apple has said that the ‌App Store‌ has helped developers make more than $260 billion since its launch and has grown the iOS app economy, creating more than 2.2 million jobs in the U.S. alone.

About‌ Epic Games

Epic Games is the software company behind the popular game Fortnite and creator of the Unreal 3 engine used by many game developers.

‌Epic Games‌‌ was embroiled in a massive lawsuit against Apple in 2020 when the company deployed a direct payment option for Fortnite's in-game currency, violating App Store and Google Play rules. Subsequently, Apple quickly pulled Fortnite from the App Store and terminated Epic's developer account. Both sides have filed lawsuits, and the standoff continues, now entering its second year.

Reference link: https://www.macrumors.com/