Tim Sweeney: "I have no regrets" over Epic Games' costly legal battles with Apple and Google

• Epic Games Store has generated more than 10 million installs on mobile to date
• The Fortnite maker is targeting 100m installs on mobile, a third of its 300m PC store downloads
• "We fight so that we can have the opportunity to be a top level company in the industry and not just a vassal to Google and Apple."

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney says he has "no regrets" over the Fortnite maker's legal battles against Apple and Google despite incurring "really significant" costs.

Speaking to PocketGamer.biz during a media call, Sweeney said the company would have made more money had it not brought lawsuits against the two tech giants.

Epic initiated action against Apple and Google in 2020 by implementing its own payment system into Fortnite on mobile, which contravened the platform holders’ rules.

Fortnite was summarily removed from the two marketplaces, kicking off legal action from Epic across the world against the companies. Prior to its removal, Fortnite had generated $1.2 billion in gross revenue through the App Store.

Its Apple case went all the way to the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (the Supreme court did not take up the case), where it only won one of its claims, the ability for developers to link-out to outside store and payments.

The fallout from this has led to various new rules on how developers can link to external sites - including Apple’s plans to charge 27% on external platform payments.

A US jury ruled in Epic’s favour in a lawsuit against Google last year, which said the latter held an illegal monopoly.

Epic Games Store mobile installs surpass 10m

Following the introduction of the Digital Markets Act, Fortnite is now available to Android and iOS users in the European Union through the Epic Games Store and AltStore PAL. In a response to a question on its popularity, Sweeney said the Epic Games thas surpassed 10 million installs on mobile since its launch. The company has a target of 100m installs.

For comparison, the store has picked up 300m installs on PC since 2018. Fortnite was installed on 110m iOS devices prior to its removal from the App Store, while the game accumulated more than 40m Android downloads.

Meanwhile, today it has filed another lawsuit against Google and Samsung, alleging the two companies have colluded over the opt-out Auto Blocker feature introduced in a July update for new Samsung devices.

Fortnite profits

Sweeney highlighted that despite some victories in opening up the app stores, there was still “considerable friction” for users, including in Europe.

He claimed once remedies are issued and implemented against Google, following the company’s US legal victory against the firm, there remained the risk of “malicious compliance”, which in that scenario he said would necessitate further legal fights.

“Epic and every developer in the entire industry will be vastly better off,” Sweeney told PocketGamer.biz. 

“So much so that it will have all been worth it, if and only if the fight eventually leads to a level playing field with fair competition for stores, free of monopoly junk fees and monopoly rents being imposed on apps.

“You know, the 30% Apple makes and Google makes is much more than the profit than almost any app developer makes from their own app. That’s certainly true of Fortnite. If we distribute it through their store, they would make more than we would, by far.”

Sweeney claimed that by opening up the app stores - such as enabling alternative payment systems and stores - this could lead to better competition, a greater supply of apps, better deals and better app prices. For developers, it could lead to growth opportunities and the potential to generate higher profits, he said.

One trend in the games industry has been companies using ‘direct-to-consumer’ practices. This has seen publishers directing players to their own web stores, where they can take as much as a 95% cut of sales, rather than 70%. Some firms use their own payment methods while others use third-party services like Xsolla, Appcharge, Aghanim and others.

Slow process

Sweeney said he wanted to created an ecosystem on mobile where firms like the Fortnite maker can compete and become a “top level company” - not just a “vassal” to Google and Apple.

“We fight on because there's a core principle at stake and if the future is that any monopoly, gatekeeper can do whatever they want," said Sweeney.

“Then they're always gonna take all of the profit and exert all of the control from the entire market. And further, they're going to use their control with self-preference and ensure that whenever a promising product comes along from a third-party developer, it's a big enough opportunity for them to kind of Sherlock it and take all of the revenue and opportunity for it by registering the control of the gatekeeping.

“The tech industry is going to be a desert or anybody who's not a top level gatekeeper, so long as the top level gatekeepers are in place. This is why we fight. We fight so that we can have the opportunity to be a top level company in the industry and not just a vassal to Google and Apple.

“I have no regrets. I wish that, especially the legislative and regulatory processes would be faster. The slowness of that makes it really hard for everybody.

“But this has to happen and we want our kids to grow up in a world that's better than this one. I grew up in an awesome world for developers and opportunities, in the early days of Apple, two computers and PCs.

“Anybody growing up coming of age in this industry right now is best case going to be an Apple and Google serf and that has to change, that must change.”