Epic Games Files Another Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple In Australia

Epic Games takes their legal feud against Apple overseas as they file yet another lawsuit against the tech giant in Australia. The new lawsuit was filed in Australia’s Federal Court and claims that Apple is breaching the country’s consumer laws by monopolizing in-app purchases and app downloads for the iPhone.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said that they specifically chose to file another suit in Australia because of its growing mobile software market as well as the country’s strict consumer laws and strong legal and regulatory systems.

“It's another set of laws under which Apple's practices are clearly in violation. And another chance to get this issue really thoroughly examined,” Sweeney told The Sydney Herald. “And also there's a really big and growing mobile software industry in Australia, a lot of great game developers, and they all suffer dearly by Apple and Google's 30 per cent tax. I doubt there's a single developer in Australia who makes more profit from their own games then Apple and Google make from their games.”

Sweeney also said that while Apple’s 30% cut on in-app purchases was a good deal for app developers 12 years ago, the world’s economy is now leaning more towards mobile transactions and that a change in the system was sorely needed.

“Apple has said they have the legal right to do whatever the hell they want because they make the devices,” he said. “Under Apple's legal theory they could charge 90 per cent. The very notion that they're standing on is antithetical to free markets and competition.”

“Apple is essentially using its control of the hardware to force all commerce to go through them, against the will of developers and also against the will of consumers. What's happening in the tech industry is really destructive. It needs to change rather fast,” adds Sweeney.

Apple defended themselves with a statement citing Epic’s “deceptive” addition of a direct payment system in Fortnite to bypass their commission structure. “In ways a judge has described as deceptive and clandestine, Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines that apply equally to every developer and protect customers,” they said. “Their reckless behavior made pawns of customers, and we look forward to making this clear to Australian courts.”

Epic Games is not seeking damages from Apple but wants to see these exclusive, closed-off platforms opened to competition and alternative payment processing systems.

Meanwhile, Apple has just announced the launch of the App Store Small Business Program. The program aims to make the company more indie-friendly by lowering their IAP commission from studios that earn less than a million dollars annually to 15% instead of 30%.