For the second time this month, Microsoft is speaking out publicly against Apple’s actions toward third-party developers, making a statement of support for Epic’s Unreal Engine in the game technology company’s lawsuit against the iPad and iPhone maker.
Microsoft filed a statement in federal court in California over the weekend, after Epic accused Apple of threatening to revoke its access to its Apple developer accounts and tools. It’s the latest twist in a larger dispute over the Fortnite maker’s use of an in-app currency system that sidestepped Apple’s traditional payment mechanism and the accompanying 30% fee.
Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, said on Twitter over the weekend that ensuring Epic has access to the latest Apple technology is “the right thing” for gamers and the industry.
Today we filed a statement in support of Epic's request to keep access to the Apple SDK for its Unreal Engine. Ensuring that Epic has access to the latest Apple technology is the right thing for gamer developers & gamers https://t.co/72bLdDkvUx
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) August 23, 2020
Microsoft’s court filing explained the company’s position in detail.
“Denying Epic access to Apple’s SDK and other development tools will prevent Epic from supporting Unreal Engine on iOS and macOS, and will place Unreal Engine and those game creators that have built, are building, and may build games on it at a substantial disadvantage,” wrote Kevin Gammill, Microsoft’s general manager for Gaming Developer Experiences, in the company’s declaration.
He continued, “If Unreal Engine cannot support games for iOS or macOS, Microsoft would be required to choose between abandoning its customers and potential customers on the iOS and macOS platforms or choosing a different game engine when preparing to develop new games.
“Because iOS is a large and growing market for games, Apple’s discontinuation of Unreal Engine’s ability to support iOS will be a material disadvantage for the Unreal Engine in future decisions by Microsoft and other game creators as to the choice of an engine for new games.”
Microsoft previously spoke out against Apple’s App Store policies, saying it would not be able to bring its game subscription services to Apple devices because of the associated rules and restrictions.
