The ongoing spat between Apple and Epic Games took another turn on Thursday, a further indication that the feud still has some way to run.
Just a couple of days ago Epic informed players of its games that Apple was about to end the use of the “Sign in with Apple” feature that lets gamers access their Epic accounts on iOS to play Fortnite and other games. To avoid any issues, it told gamers to make sure that the email and password associated with their Epic account were up to date, with the block expected to come into force on Friday, September 11.
But on Thursday, the gaming company issued an update, saying Apple had decided to provide “an indefinite extension” for the sign-in procedure, though it still advised players to prepare their accounts for its removal, which could happen at any time.
UPDATE: Apple previously stated they would terminate “Sign In with Apple” support for Epic Games accounts after Sept 11, 2020, but today provided an indefinite extension. We still recommend you prepare your accounts now for “Sign In with Apple” removal. https://t.co/hUDCKcajGo
— Epic Games Store (@EpicGames) September 10, 2020
The update is important as Epic accounts not only provide the gateway for playing its games on iOS devices, but they also let you log into the Epic Games Store and Epic’s developer portal, among other benefits.
Epic vs Apple
The dispute began in August 2020 when Epic Games, accusing both Apple and Google of anti-competitive and monopolistic practices with their respective app stores, tried to circumvent the in-app purchasing process that sees the tech giants taking a 30% commission from sales. Epic’s workaround allowed players to make purchases directly from the developer at discounted prices.
Apple responded by kicking Fortnite off the App Store for breaking the rules, a measure also taken by Google on the Play Store when Epic made the same move there. As the battle shifted to the courts, Apple terminated Epic’s developer account, resulting in all of its games disappearing from the App Store.
It means that as things stand, all Epic apps are off the App Store, preventing any newcomers from downloading them. It also means that any app updates rolled out by the company won’t be able to be downloaded by players who currently have Epic games on their device.
To reiterate, if you’re one of those with Epic apps on your device, don’t forget to check out the company’s instructions to get your accounts ready ahead of the expectation — if the dispute can’t be amicably resolved — that Apple will at some point block you from using its sign-in process for playing Epic’s games.
We’ve reached out to both companies for more information on the current situation and we will update this piece when we hear back.
Digital Trends has a piece offering a broad overview of the dispute between Epic and Apple.