Epic CEO Tim Sweeney is Not a Fan of Apple’s EU App Store Changes

The big App Store changes that Apple is making in the European Union are still not enough to bring a smile to Tim Sweeney’s face (although I can’t recall ever seeing Sweeney smile). The Epic Games CEO is firing back at Apple, saying they are implementing an “anticompetitive scheme rife with junk fees.”

Sweeney vented to AppleInsider and also made a series of posts on the social network formerly known as Twitter telling readers his thoughts about Apple’s EU-mandated changes in the App Store, which are required by the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Sweeney told AppleInsider:

Apple’s plan to thwart Europe’s new Digital Markets Act law is a devious new instance of Malicious Compliance.They are forcing developers to choose between App Store exclusivity and the store terms, which will be illegal under DMA, or accept a new also-illegal anticompetitive scheme rife with new Junk Fees on downloads and new Apple taxes on payments they don’t process.

Apple proposes that it can choose which stores are allowed to compete with their App Store. They could block Epic from launching the Epic Games Store and distributing Fortnite through it, for example, or block Microsoft, Valve, Good Old Games, or new entrants.

[…]

There’s a lot more hot garbage in Apple’s announcement. It will take more time to parse both the written and unwritten parts of this new horror show, so stay tuned.

Tim Sweeney, Epic Games

As you might expect, the Coalition for App Fairness, which was founded by and is largely financed by Epic, has a similar stance on the matter. Rick VanMeter, Executive Director of the Coalition, also issued a statement:

Apple clearly has no intention to comply with the DMA. Apple is introducing new fees on direct downloads and payments they do nothing to process, which violates the law. This plan does not achieve the DMA’s goal to increase competition and fairness in the digital market – it is not fair, reasonable, nor non-discriminatory.

[…]

This is yet another attempt to circumvent regulation, the likes of which we’ve seen in the United States, the Netherlands and South Korea. Apple’s ‘plan’ is a shameless insult to the European Commission and the millions of European consumers they represent – it must not stand and should be rejected by the Commission.

Rick VanMeter, Coalition for App Fairness

It is not unreasonable to think that Apple has likely already submitted its plans for the EU App Store to the European Commission, which is a requirement of the DMA.

The DMA does not require Apple to charge zero fees, only that any fees it does charge must be fair and reasonable. When it comes to third-party app stores outside of the iOS App Store, Apple will be charging a Core Technology Fee (CTF) intended to reflect “the value Apple provides developers through ongoing investments in the tools, technologies, and services that enable them to build and share innovative apps with users around the world.”

Under the CTF terms, developers will pay €0.50 for the first installation of an app by a given Apple ID each year, regardless of the number of devices they install the app on or the number of updates the developer publishes. However, this is targeted at larger developers, as the first million installs will be free. Apple estimates that less than 1% of developers will have to pay the CTF for their apps.

The only other fees Apple will receive are for apps that are distributed through the App Store, where developers can choose to either remain on the current 15/30% terms or move to new terms where they’ll have to pay the same per-install CTF as they would on third-party marketplaces but also receive a more favorite 13/20% commission — less a 3% discount if they use an alternative payment provider for in-app purchases and subscriptions.

Developers with an outside marketplace will also be responsible for refunds, not Apple, and App Store features like Family Purchase Sharing and parental restrictions on In-App Purchases like “Ask to Buy” will not be available for third-party app marketplaces or apps sold on those marketplaces.