Epic Games has turned "Fortnite Battle Royale" into a worldwide sensation and it has made billions of dollars in less than three years. The video game developer released the game in September 2017 and as of May 2020, it has more than 350 million players. Considering it's a free-to-play video game, Epic Games makes money by selling in-game cosmetic items which give no competitive advantage.

"Fortnite Battle Royale" is available on nearly every current-generation gaming platform, including gaming consoles and mobile phones. Epic Games has released the popular video game on Apple mobile devices in early 2018 during their beta phase, a few months before "Fortnite" became available on Android devices.

However, Apple has removed the game from App Store on August 13 and Epic Games has filed a lawsuit against the company.

Epic Games vs. Apple

On August 13, Epic Games has announced the discounted price of V-Bucks in "Fortnite Battle Royale." The video game developer lowered the price of the in-game currency by 20 percent on all supported devices. However, to get the discount, mobile players need to use payment processing by Epic Games, and that is something Apple does not like. Before August 13, the only way iPhone and iPad users could buy cosmetic items through Apple's own payment processor, which is something Apple takes a 30-percent cut for.

To avoid the cut by Apple, Epic Games implemented its own payment processor and lowered the prices of the premium in-game currency.

However, Apple has removed "Fortnite Battle Royale" from App Store, further escalating the disagreement between the two companies. It seems like the "Fortnite" developer knew what was going to happen as they had a lawsuit ready and will go to court to fight Apple.

In addition to the lawsuit, Epic has released a short video in Party Royale which mocks the "1984" iconic ad made by Apple.

The video game creator has also started #FreeFortnite hashtag and asked fans and followers to join in the fight against the other company.

What is Epic trying to achieve?

The lawsuit filed by Epic states that the company does not want monetary compensation and does not seek a favorable status. However, the company is trying to fight the monopoly established by Apple and getting more freedom for its applications.

Right now, several applications and companies have a favored status on App Store as they are allowed to make direct payments.

It will be interesting to see how this is all going to play out and who is going to win. Unfortunately, iOS players will most likely be blocked from playing an upcoming season of "Fortnite Battle Royale" as updates are also done through Apple's App Store.
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