Director -General of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney, whose company makes forts and tools for other developers, including Engine Unreal, called Apple and Google as “gangster -style businesses” engaged in illegal practices while talking to a Y combker event on Wednesday. The executive also emphasized how the practices of large technology companies directly influenced his business by intimidating users from installing epic store software and preventing EPIC from attracting developers to its offers.
In particular, Epic Games has played a major role in the fight against great technology monopolies over the past few years.
The company sued both Apple and Google
for monopolistic practices on their respective app stores. Epic won its issue with Google but not with Apple. However, the court demanded that Apple open more competition by forcing a change in its App Store rules. The court said application developers should now be able to connect with other purchasing mechanisms besides Apple itself. (Unfortunately for application developers, EPIC is still fighting with Apple in courts for this change, as it claims that Apple violated the court order by allowing developers to process their payments, but only with a slight reduction, 3% of the commission, which does not make it valid for their time.)
On the stage, Sweeney again called the big technology companies for their practices and their “bad compliance” with court decisions.
“The sad truth is that Apple and Google are no longer confidence, companies that respect the law,” Sweeney said. “They are, in many ways, as gangster -style businesses that will do anything they think they can leave. If they think the fine will be cheaper than the income lost from illegal practice, they always continue illegal practice and pay the fine.”
The game executive showed how technology companies’ practices damage his business.
For example, when android users try to install the Epic Games store on their smartphone, Google warns them that software is from an “unknown source” and can damage their device. This “intimidation screen”, as Sweeney calls it, is intended to warn users of the risks of installing non -games. But he says the screen results in 50-60% of users who abandon their effort to install the software.
A similar removal rate is found in iOS. In Europe, the Epic Games store is allowed thanks to new regulations, but Apple shows a warning to users trying to install it. Again, this leads to 50-60%abandonment rates, Sweeney said.
He calls the use of these screens “Self-Preference of the Textbook”, mentioning that the companies “are leaving with it”.
“Crime pays for large technology companies,” he said. “Of course, we don’t have to wait for this to change until the implementation becomes much, much more powerful,” he told the audience.
Moreover, Fortnite EXEC said that due to the friction and tariffs associated with third -party iOS application stores, no major game developer has been ready to distribute games through the Epic Game store. Instead of its usual 30%fee, Apple reduces the fee, but collects a “essential technology fee” of 50 cents per year for each app with more than 1 million downloads.
“If your application is not extremely high for users, any free game to play is largely distributed by this,” Sweeney explained. “Too too expensive for them. Apple would go bankrupt if they did it.”
He noticed that the Epic Games store in iOS has managed to attract some postal games. Meanwhile, the store will open up for developers later this year, which Sweeney hopes to increase the catalog further in both Android and iOS.
