Epic Games (and a lot of other companies) isn’t all that happy with Apple, and it’s going out of its way to make sure the world knows it.
Of course, Epic Games is also going out of its way to try and make change, for better or worse. To that end, the company is pulling out all the stops and using its strategy to promote Fortnite to bash Apple. We’ve already seen the #FreeFortnite hashtag, for instance. And Epic has used its considerable marketing department to publish short films to parody old Apple ads (which you can watch below). And now Epic is hosting a Fortnite Cup, or tournament, to continue to lay it on Apple.
The official #FreeFortnite Cup will take place on Sunday, August 23, 2020. And if there was any confusion about why this Fortnite tournament exists, Epic is quick to dispel that:
These are the final days of the entire Fortnite community’s ability to play together. Apple has blocked Fortnite from the App Store, preventing players from updating to new versions. Players on iOS devices will be left behind on Chapter 2 – Season 3 while everyone else jumps into the Chapter 2 – Season 4 launch on August 27.
Celebrate the quest for one more Victory Royale with friends across all platforms in the #FreeFortnite Cup this Sunday, August 23. Drop in for an opportunity to win more prizes than ever before including the new Tart Tycoon Outfit, gaming hardware, and exclusive apparel.
There are quite a few “anti-Apple” prizes to be won as well. Basically, Epic is showing off that it can dole out prizes like a Microsoft Xbox One X, for instance. Or a Sony PlayStation 4 or a Alienware-branded gaming laptop. Want a phone? Well, you can’t win a current iPhone, but you can win a OnePlus 8. A Galaxy Tab S7 from Samsung is also part of the prize pool as well.
Oh, and so is this hat, which includes the Loot Llama from Fortnite, but with Apple’s instantly recognizable rainbow design. “Free Fortnite” is in distinct text below the Loot Llama as well.
If you are interested in participating in the #FreeFortnite Cup, here are the details:
Navigate to the in-game Compete tab to see when the event starts for your region and during the scheduled time, you can drop in to the tournament by selecting the #FreeFortnite Cup Playlist. For four hours, eligible players have the opportunity to win prizes in the #FreeFortnite Cup. Compete as a Solo player in up to 12 matches. Scoring is as follows:
- Active Time – 1 point for every 3 minutes on the BR island.
- Eliminations – 1 point per Elim
- Victory Royale – 10 points for each Victory Royale
The rundown
So, last week Epic Games updated its popular battle royale game Fortnite on the server-side, which meant it bypassed Apple’s App Store review process in an effort to get a direct payment option available to players within the game. That broke Apple’s App Store rules, for a variety of reasons, but mostly because Epic was using its own direct payment option instead of relying on Apple’s. Epic knew this would result in some serious blowback, and, indeed, that happened. Apple, and ultimately Google as well, removed Fortnite from the App Store and Play Store, respectively.
Epic Games sued Apple (and Google) for what it calls anti-competitive behavior. However, while Epic is technically fighting with Google (and has fought with Google in the past) as well, the majority of its focus has been on Apple and the App Store. Make no mistake about it, this kerfuffle is all about money, on both sides, but Epic CEO Tim Sweeney would also very much like to get the Epic Games Store on iOS as well.
Apple says it’s not going to make an exception for Epic or Fortnite. Other companies like Spotify and news publishers have weighed in, letting those interested know that they, too, would like Apple’s App Store fees to be reduced (or removed altogether).
Uglier before it gets better
Apple has threatened to eliminate Epic Games’ developer accounts across iOSÂ and macOS as a result of the company’s decisions. If nothing changes, the developer accounts will go away on Friday, August 28, 2020. And, based on this tournament, it doesn’t look like Epic Game is going to back down on this any time soon.
But, what do you think? Will you be participating in the #FreeFortnite Cup? Let us know in the comments.