The Disingenuous Nature of #FreeFortnite
Apple’s policies are horrendous, but Epic Games’ creation of their own false narrative shouldn’t go unnoticed.
On August 13th, 2020, Epic Games implemented a permanent discount on V-bucks, the primary paid currency in their hit game Fortnite. With discounts of up to 20 percent on purchases, this move generated quite a bit of good publicity and hubbub for Fortnite and its distributor, Epic Games.
This move came with a rather large cost. On the very same day, Apple took Fornite off the App Store for “violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designer to keep the store safe for our users.” More specifically, in order to implement the V-bucks discounts that many users craved, Epic Games chose to implement its own payment system in the iOS and Android versions of Fortnite. This payment system bypassed Apple’s own in-app payment system, meaning that Apple would no longer receive their juicy 30 percent cut of V-bucks purchases through the iOS version.
The Aftermath
After being removed from the App Store (as well as the Play Store, the Google equivalent of Apple’s App Store), the Fortnite community, as well as the tech community in general, entered an uproar. While criticisms of Apple’s 30 percent cut of in-app purchases had been aired by many long before the Fortnite situation, the sheer scale of media attention on Apple’s pay policies had never been greater.
In the time since Epic Games made their first move on the 13th, the situation has developed rapidly. Epic Games has begun the process of suing Apple over the “anti-competitive nature” of their policies. Furthermore, this lawsuit should not be overlooked as a PR move; Epic Games has brought on the counsel of many legal experts, including former US assistant attorney general Christine Varney, and antitrust litigator Katherine Forrest.
Additionally, companies such as Spotify filed similar antitrust lawsuits earlier this year, so in all likelihood, this entire situation will have long-lasting effects on the App Store, as well as general mobile distribution platform rules and regulations.
Epic’s Disingenuousness
While it should be clear that Epic’s actions and the following lawsuit have reasonable grounds — after all, Apple’s 30 percent cut on in-app purchases is rather substantial, to say the least — Epic’s actions during this whole debacle have been anything but genuine and straight-forward.
To begin with, the intent behind the initial act of implementing a V-bucks discount through bypassing the App Store’s purchase model must be questioned. Beyond a doubt, Epic Games had to be expecting retaliation by Apple if they proceeded with bypassing the App Store’s rules on in-app purchases, and yet they did so anyways.
So why did they do it? According to Epic Games themselves, Apples’ actions are “anti-competitive restrictions on mobile device marketplaces,” with Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney stating, “[Epic is] fighting for open platforms and policy changes equally benefiting all developers.”
Well, that sounds like a valiant cause. If this is the case, why hasn’t Epic Games challenged other companies such as Sony and Microsoft? These companies have also charged absurd royalties on games like Fortnite, and maintain relatively closed platforms.
Point being, Epic Games and their CEO do not appear to be in this fight for “all developers” as they claim, and their corporate casus belli against Apple is likely more about cold hard cash, rather than freedom and equal benefits.
“Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite”
On the very same day that Fortnite offered their 20 percent discounts (the same day that Apple took Fortnite off their store, as well), Fortnite released “Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite,” a parody of Apple’s 1984 advertisement, which hearkened back to George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984.
In the video, Epic claims that they have “defied the App Store Monopoly,” and calls on viewers to “… join the fight to stop 2020 from becoming ‘1984’.”
A rather audacious claim, especially during a year where the threat of the COVID-19 is being used to push for stronger facial recognition software, and folks in Portland are being taken off the streets by unmarked federal agents. It is not only disingenuous, but also distasteful, and damn-near offensive that Epic Games would compare the severity of their corporate war to the severity of a dystopian future.
The video ends with a simple call-to-action using the ever beloved hash-tagging of social media, “#FreeFortnite.” What is Fortnite being freed from? It seems like Fortnite has already been “freed” from the App Store, so what else is being freed here? The emancipation of Fortnite is a concern at the bottom of the barrel right now, especially because it is unclear what the game is being freed from. The bemusing nature of the hashtag is likely something Epic Games does not really care about elaborating upon. After all, they got their neat alliteration out of it, so that’s that.
The Underdog isn’t the Underdog.
All of the actions taken by Epic Games during this circus of tomfoolery have had an underlying connecting theme, at least from a PR perspective: Epic Games represents the underdog, sticking it to “the Man” that Apple has become.
However, this couldn’t be any further from the truth. According to Wikipedia, Epic Games is valued at over 17.3 billion dollars this month (August 2020). Furthermore, Tencent Holdings Ltd, a Chinese conglomerate worth over 500 billion in 2018, holds a 40 percent share in Epic Games.
This is not David versus Goliath. This is Goliath versus another Goliath.
The Moral of the Story
It’s clear that Epic Games has acted in a disingenuous manner throughout this entire situation. So, does that mean that Apple (and Google) are in the clear? Absolutely not. To hold Epic Games liable for their deceptive nature does not mean that Apple is being given a free pass.
Society, and each individual therein, is capable of holding these entities responsible for their individual wrongdoings. Epic’s actions have brought up a clear issue surrounding the App Store, as well as the cut that big corporations such as Apple, Google, and others shave off from up-and-coming developers’ profits, and these companies and their actions should continually be scrutinized under the public eye.
At the same time, due care should be given that other slimy companies such as Epic Games do not manage to enlist consumers into corporate wars lead on by catchy hashtags and video propaganda.
The lens of of justice and morality should be applied equally throughout the technology industry and society as a whole, not just against specific companies. Instead of giving-in to catchy hashtags, and the notion of brand loyalty, criticize cruddy business practices such as Apple’s when you see them, and call-out companies like Epic when they try to swindle their consumers into fighting their fights for them. It is the duty of every member of society to stay informed and hold companies and corporations accountable.
