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> I don't think Epic ever intended to release the new Fortnite season on Apple platforms. Epic probably doesn't care much about Apple platforms. 80% of Fortni

by pier25 6y ago

> I don't think Epic ever intended to release the new Fortnite season on Apple platforms. Epic probably doesn't care much about Apple platforms. 80% of Fortnite players are on console. I doubt macOS accounts for more than 1-2%. https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/newzoos-battle-royale-sentiment-study-understanding-the-phenomena-and-what-draws-players-to-particular-franchises/ https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/newzoos-battle-royale-s...

jeremyjh 6y ago
Sure but a fair few play on iOS. If Apple user revenue didn't matter to Epic why would they have even started this to begin with?
- 6nf 6y ago
  To serve as a warning to others
- ragona 6y ago
  I wonder what percentage play exclusively on iOS though. If big spenders will spend on whatever is convenient it could be easily worth it to stop them from spending on iOS and get the cut back.
- beached_whale 6y ago
  There are other App/Game stores. I think this is the first, but XBox/PS maybe in the future.
- snuxoll 6y ago
  For the same reason they’ve pushed Epic Games Store on PC - they take 5% of gross revenue as royalties for any product that uses UE4 and lower fees charged by distribution channels makes that easier to swallow for both larger and smaller studios. Mind you, this is pure speculation on my part - but given they consider that 5% royalty paid as part of the fee for every title sold on EGS it seems likely that their goal is to sell more licenses, not just to cash in on Fortnite.
nacs 6y ago
You're completely ignoring iOS. Fortnite has been in the top 5 top-grossing games on iOS for over a year now making insane amounts via IAPs.
burlesona 6y ago
And ironically Epic is mum on all those consoles that take the exact same cut that Apple does. The iPhone is merely another console. Really hard for me to see why this is controversial, or why Epic thinks that Apple can have a monopoly over their console while somehow Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo don’t...
- takeda 6y ago
  Maybe they chose the smallest market to fight this and set a new precedent?
- kmeisthax 6y ago
  There's two possibilities. 1. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have all negotiated smaller rev-share agreements with Epic. Maybe this is in exchange for marketing or console bundles or something else that improves the health of the platform. 2. Epic thinks they can use any victory they get out of Apple to force game console manufacturers to do the same thing. Personally, I think it's the latter - Epic's ultimate goal is to get their hands into the game distribution pie. One of the things Epic contemplates in the lawsuit is "we want to run our own iOS app store in competition with Apple's App Store". You bet their ass "Epic Game Store on Switch" is going to follow if they win the Apple lawsuit. (For the record, I happen to want Epic to win, though I don't want EPIC to win. I hate locked-down hardware.) You are correct in one critical way: there's no way in hell Epic would try this shit with console manufacturers. You know how Apple tried to threaten developer tools access and basically tried to take UE4 users hostage? Yeah, imagine that, except console manufacturers have far more leverage. First, console is Epic's core business; second, console developer access is very strictly guarded. Had the courts not enjoined Apple from revoking Epic's UE4 developer account, they could at least have hypothetically continued to support iOS customers. This isn't true on console: the developer tools are confidential and highly guarded. So, instead of "we might revoke your dev account access", it's "give us back our devkits, delete all your copies of our SDK, delete any UE4 code that uses that SDK, and stop selling UE4 on our platform". Epic wouldn't be allowed to support PS4/Switch/Xbox developers in any capacity. Just the mere act of a licensed console developer asking an unlicensed engine provider for support with the console SDK would constitute a breach of their confidentiality agreements.
cavanasm 6y ago
In court, Apple claimed that iOS payments are 12% of total Fortnite revenue, just for reference. It's not a death blow, but it's definitely impactful.
- pier25 6y ago
  How can Apple know the total Fortnite revenue? Is this public knowledge?
  - cavanasm 6y ago
    As far as I'm aware, it isn't, but it could have been part of the filings for the temporary restraining order. The number is from this coverage of the hearing by a tech/legal reporter. https://twitter.com/sarahjeong/status/1298031302357082112?s=19 https://twitter.com/sarahjeong/status/1298031302357082112?s=...

by pier25 6y ago

jeremyjh 6y ago

Sure but a fair few play on iOS. If Apple user revenue didn't matter to Epic why would they have even started this to begin with?

6nf 6y ago
To serve as a warning to others
ragona 6y ago
I wonder what percentage play exclusively on iOS though. If big spenders will spend on whatever is convenient it could be easily worth it to stop them from spending on iOS and get the cut back.
beached_whale 6y ago
There are other App/Game stores. I think this is the first, but XBox/PS maybe in the future.
snuxoll 6y ago
For the same reason they’ve pushed Epic Games Store on PC - they take 5% of gross revenue as royalties for any product that uses UE4 and lower fees charged by distribution channels makes that easier to swallow for both larger and smaller studios. Mind you, this is pure speculation on my part - but given they consider that 5% royalty paid as part of the fee for every title sold on EGS it seems likely that their goal is to sell more licenses, not just to cash in on Fortnite.

nacs 6y ago

You're completely ignoring iOS. Fortnite has been in the top 5 top-grossing games on iOS for over a year now making insane amounts via IAPs.

burlesona 6y ago

And ironically Epic is mum on all those consoles that take the exact same cut that Apple does. The iPhone is merely another console. Really hard for me to see why this is controversial, or why Epic thinks that Apple can have a monopoly over their console while somehow Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo don’t...

takeda 6y ago
Maybe they chose the smallest market to fight this and set a new precedent?
kmeisthax 6y ago
There's two possibilities. 1. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have all negotiated smaller rev-share agreements with Epic. Maybe this is in exchange for marketing or console bundles or something else that improves the health of the platform. 2. Epic thinks they can use any victory they get out of Apple to force game console manufacturers to do the same thing. Personally, I think it's the latter - Epic's ultimate goal is to get their hands into the game distribution pie. One of the things Epic contemplates in the lawsuit is "we want to run our own iOS app store in competition with Apple's App Store". You bet their ass "Epic Game Store on Switch" is going to follow if they win the Apple lawsuit. (For the record, I happen to want Epic to win, though I don't want EPIC to win. I hate locked-down hardware.) You are correct in one critical way: there's no way in hell Epic would try this shit with console manufacturers. You know how Apple tried to threaten developer tools access and basically tried to take UE4 users hostage? Yeah, imagine that, except console manufacturers have far more leverage. First, console is Epic's core business; second, console developer access is very strictly guarded. Had the courts not enjoined Apple from revoking Epic's UE4 developer account, they could at least have hypothetically continued to support iOS customers. This isn't true on console: the developer tools are confidential and highly guarded. So, instead of "we might revoke your dev account access", it's "give us back our devkits, delete all your copies of our SDK, delete any UE4 code that uses that SDK, and stop selling UE4 on our platform". Epic wouldn't be allowed to support PS4/Switch/Xbox developers in any capacity. Just the mere act of a licensed console developer asking an unlicensed engine provider for support with the console SDK would constitute a breach of their confidentiality agreements.

cavanasm 6y ago

In court, Apple claimed that iOS payments are 12% of total Fortnite revenue, just for reference. It's not a death blow, but it's definitely impactful.

pier25 6y ago
How can Apple know the total Fortnite revenue? Is this public knowledge?
- cavanasm 6y ago
  As far as I'm aware, it isn't, but it could have been part of the filings for the temporary restraining order. The number is from this coverage of the hearing by a tech/legal reporter. https://twitter.com/sarahjeong/status/1298031302357082112?s=19 https://twitter.com/sarahjeong/status/1298031302357082112?s=...