Epic Games Takes Legal Action Against Apple In Australia

In an expansion of its effort to “make digital platforms fairer for consumers and developers,” Epic Games took legal action against Apple in Australia, according to a statement posted on Wednesday (Nov. 18) Sydney time.

The legal claim was filed in the Federal Court of Australia and contends that Apple’s behavior in its App Store is an improper use of market power and sizably lowers competition in app distribution and payment workflows, according to the statement.

Epic’s claim contends that Apple’s conduct is “unconscionable” and goes against Australian Consumer Law in addition to different parts of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), according to the statement.

The development occurred on the heels of proceedings brought by the game company in the United States against Apple on Aug. 13. Epic says it is not looking for damages from the tech company in the United States or Australia.

“This is much bigger than Epic versus Apple — it goes to the heart of whether consumers and creators can do business together directly on mobile platforms or are forced to use monopoly channels against wishes and interests,” Epic Founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said in the statement.

Sweeney said that Apple was a trailblazer of the personal computer, and its first offerings were open platforms.

“Anyone could write code, anyone could release software and users could install software from sources of their choosing. Today’s digital platforms must be similarly open to fair competition,” Sweeney said.

In August, news surfaced that Microsoft was stepping into the fray of the legal battle between Epic Games and Apple over the banning of the Fortnite game from the App Store and the banning of the game maker’s account.

Kevin Gammill, the company’s general manager for Gaming Developer Experiences, previously said the banning of the game developer creates a bad precedent as it makes Microsoft and others not able to harness the Unreal Engine.

Epic’s Unreal Engine is a collection of tools used by many that allows for 3D graphics to be finished. The game developer licenses it to firms for a charge.