Apple stopped Epic Games from starting its own game platform on iOS because of past complaints about the App Store. On Wednesday, Apple closed a new account Epic opened in Sweden. Epic wanted to bring Fortnite and other games back to iPhones in Europe with its own store. Apple said it did this because Epic broke their agreement before.
Epic tried to use new rules from the European Union, called the Digital Markets Act (DMA), starting Thursday. These rules say Apple must let competitors use its system. But, EU officials didn’t like what Apple did. Thierry Breton, an important EU person, said on the X social media that the DMA doesn’t allow scaring developers. He said they would quickly check why Apple closed Epic’s account.
The European Commission also got involved on Thursday. They asked Apple to explain if they followed the DMA rules. They want to see if Apple’s actions fit with other laws about digital services and business platforms, especially how they treat developers.
Apple said the law lets them close any Epic accounts because Epic didn’t follow their contract. Apple did this because of Epic’s past and ongoing problems.
Epic said that Apple’s decision takes away a big competitor from the App Store.
