The empire struck back today, as Apple Inc. filed a lawsuit against Epic Games Ltd. for breach of contract in the latest battle between the two companies.

The battle between the two companies started with Epic filing a lawsuit against Apple Aug. 13 alleging that the App Store is an illegal monopoly after Fortnite, the world’s most popular game, was banned. The move came after Epic added support for direct in-app payments, a breach of Apple’s terms and conditions.

Apple until now has mostly repeated the same line that it hopes it can work together with Epic in the future, but Epic created this situation.  Fortnite is said by Apple to be welcomed to return to the Apple App Store but only when Epic complies with the App Store’s guidelines — specifically that in-game payments are processed through Apple and not through Epic directly.

In its lawsuit Apple didn’t hold back, claiming that Epic breached its contract with the company while also seeking an unspecified amount in damages.

″Epic’s lawsuit is nothing more than a basic disagreement over money,” Apple said in the filing with the District Court for the Northern District of California. “Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality it is a multibillion-dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store.”

The iPhone maker also claimed in the suit that it didn’t know what Epic was planning: ″Unbeknownst to Apple, Epic had been busy enlisting a legion of lawyers, publicists and technicians to orchestrate a sneak assault on the App Store. Shortly after 2:00 a.m. on August 13, 2020, the morning on which Epic would activate its hidden commission-theft functionality, [Epic Games Chief Executive Officer] Mr. Sweeney again emailed Apple executives, declaring that ‘Epic will no longer adhere to Apple’s payment processing restrictions.’”

The language is of particular note: Apple claims that Fortnite players purchasing in-game items is “hidden commission-theft,” whereas Epic argues that Apple taking a compulsory 30% cut is monopolistic behavior.

Apple responding in kind to Epic’s lawsuit makes sense, but the lawsuit may be overreaching. According to CNBC, the lawsuit is seeking restitution of all money Fortnite collected through its payment system and seeks a permanent injunction banning its external payment mechanism in all apps, including Fortnite.

At first glance that seems to be extreme: Why would Apple seek to restrain Epic from external payment systems not just on iOS but across the board on mobile systems? It’s in the lawsuit on page 66 section VI – I (a). The section does go on to ask the court in (b) to also ban “the introduction of any further unauthorized external payment mechanisms into any iOS apps, including Fortnite,” but the lack of mentioning iOS in section (a) can only be presumed intentional.

Epic is not only at war with Apple but Google LLC as well over the same 30% commission, though Epic’s arguments with Google differ because the Google Play Store is not a monopoly. Arguably it could be suggested that Apple is attempting to defend Google in its lawsuit as well.

Image: Epic Games