EPIC ASKS, Apple To Restore Fortnite In South Korea!

EPIC ASKS APPLE TO RESTORE FORTNITE IN SOUTH KOREA AS NEW LAW EMERGES

The U.S. game giant violated the App Store rule which saw the company’s account blocked by the iOS giant, resulting in several filings. Yet, efforts have been made by Epic Games to force Fortnite back to the App Store per court ruling but have proven difficult. Recently, the game giant has taken a further step towards an Asian market as Epic asks Apple to restore its Fortnite developer account in South Korea as it seeks to re-release Fortnite on iOS in the market while offering both Epic and Apple payments side-by-side, Epic twitted.

Epic has asked Apple to restore our Fortnite developer account. Epic intends to re-release Fortnite on iOS in Korea offering both Epic payment and Apple payment side-by-side in compliance with the new Korean law – Fortnite (@FortniteGame) September 9, 2021

The latest development comes after South Korea passed a bill, which emerged from the updated Telecommunications Business Act, in late August that will practically force tech giants including Apple to let developers use their third-party payment systems.

“Epic intends to re-release Fortnite on iOS in Korea offering both Epic payment and Apple payment side-by-side in compliance with the new Korea law”, according to the official Fortnite Twitter account.

“As we’ve said all along, we would welcome Epic’s return to the App Store if they agree to play by the same rules as everyone else. Epic has admitted to breach of contract and as of now, there’s no legitimate basis for the reinstatement of their developer account”, according to Apple’s statement.

Despite Epic’s move, it’s evident talks between the two companies haven’t been positive so far, and could see further delays before it could see the light of the day. Nonetheless, if restoring Fortnite back to App Store will come to fruition, Epic would have to agree to comply with Apple’s App Store Review Guidelines regarding all apps, but Epic has not consistently abided by the Guidelines, and their request of Apple does not indicate any change in Epic’s position, Apple noted in its statement.

Meanwhile, ever since Apple kicked Fortnite off its App Store in August 2020 after the company introduced a direct payment system in Fortnite that violated Apple’s in-app purchase requirement, earning saw its downside, which has left both companies with a legal dispute. Yet, one could argue if the latest development is also an attempt to rock the boat in order to have a reason for another legal filing.

In view of this, it’s worth noting that Apple has taken a proactive step with regards to app policy that will allow developers to link to external websites, and has reportedly reached a settlement with an Asia market – Japan for allowing developers of “reader” apps to link to their own websites.