Epic Games’s hit battle royale shooter Fortnite has been removed from both the Apple App Store and Google Play store.
Both Apple and Google removed Fortnite after Epic added a direct payment option to the game. According to both platform holders, such a move violates their respective store’s rules.
According to Apple’s terms of service, all games on the App Store store are required to use Apple’s payment system for in-game purchases. This would include Fortnite’s in-game V-Bucks currency which can be spent on skins, items and the game’s battle pass.
Google also has similar rules for its Play Store. Unlike Apple, however, Android phones aren’t locked in to only using the Play Store. Players can still download Fortnite from Epic’s own app or on the Samsung store for those devices.
“While Fortnite remains available on Android, we can no longer make it available on Play because it violates our policies,” read a statement from Google. “However, we welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions with Epic and bring Fortnite back to Google Play.”
In response, Epic has filed complaint of legal injunction against Apple and Google.
“Epic has taken legal action to end Apple’s anti-competitive restrictions on mobile device marketplaces,” read a statement from the company to Kotaku.
In the complaint, Epic takes issue with Apple’s dominance over games on devices running iOS.
“There is no procompetitive justification for Apple’s anti-competitive conduct in the iOS App Distribution Market,” the complaint reads. It notes that users on Mac are not subject to the same restrictions, which calls into question why these restrictions are necessary on mobile devices.
Epic also claimed that it was neither looking for monetary compensation nor favorable treatment for itself. Rather, it claims that it is seeking “injunctive relief to allow fair competition in these two key markets [the App Store and in-app payments] that directly affect hundreds of millions of consumers and tens of thousands, if not more, of third-party app developers.”
Epic’s suit against Google makes similar arguments, this time raising concern over the Google Play Store’s powerful role as a distributor of Android apps and its requirement that hosted apps use Play Store Billing for any in-app purchases.