Epic Games and Apple Keep Taking Jabs at Each Other as the Legal Battle Continues

The Epic Games vs Apple saga has produced yet another development. Apple issued a statement suggesting that Fortnite’s declining popularity is the impetus behind all this drama. Epic countered by accusing Apple of ‘cherry-picking’ Google data to support its claim.

Apple’s recent statement suggested that Fortnite’s popularity “decreased by nearly 70% as compared to October 2019.”

But Epic responded immediately to put an end to such a frivolous comment. It used its own user engagement data to show Apple that Fortnite’s train is still on the same track and doing just fine.

The statement said, “Over the period of time that Apple cherry-picked for its Google search volume comparison (between October 2019 and July 2020), the number of daily active users on Fortnite actually increased by more than 39%.”

Epic Games vs Apple- A short history

It all started when the CEO of Epic Games lashed out at Apple for charging a heft 30% commission for in-game purchases. Epic decided to use its own website for payments, bypassing Apple’s App Store policy. Apple responded to this by removing Fortnite from its store, in August. To add fuel to fire, Apple also terminated Epic Games devs account for trying to circumvent its policy.

A number of other conglomerates supported Epic Games in this venture. Such a heavy tax makes it difficult for other devs to exist in the market and creates an unfair hegemony.

READ MORE– Fortnite: Players Cannot Get Addicted to the Game in China 

Which side will the jury side with?

Apple stated Google Trends as a source for its recent legal filing. This is where the problem lies. Google Trends measures the number of searches for any given term. But even if people aren’t searching for Fortnite, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t playing the game anymore or that it’s not being downloaded.

Apple hasn’t responded yet, but we will hear more on September 28, in a full-court hearing. But with how things are right now, it’s safe to say that both the companies will keep taking jabs at each other. Stay tuned for more updates!