Epic competes with Apple over online payments in South Korea

Updates from Apple Inc.

Sign up for myFT Daily Digest to be the first to know about Apple Inc.

Epic Games has taken its fight with Apple to South Korea, where the company has always wanted to play Four men has been reinstated in the App Store in accordance with the country’s first law which frees app payment restrictions.

US manufacturer of Four men, a popular online fighting game, asked Apple to revert to iPhones in South Korea that Compliance with this rule which would allow users in this country to go through Google and Apple stores and pay manufacturers directly.

Mu tweet, the company asked Apple to restore its manufacturer’s account, based on Seoul’s recent actions and to offer “Epic payments and Apple payments almost”.

Apple immediately rejected Epic’s request but a tweet recorded a recent volley from the North Carolina developer, which led to the lawsuit being filed on the App Store which the developers complained about. “Apple Taxes“.

apple removed Four men from its global App Store and revoked the Epic license in August 2020 after the game developer defrauded a 15-30% committee by offering cheaper fees on its site.

A few hours after the game was released, Epic initiated a lawsuit alleging that Apple is operating illegally by forcing developers to use payment methods. The trial in California was completed in May and a verdict is expected soon.

Epic has provided a file of Complaints against infidelity against Apple at the European Commission in February, alleging that App Store rules violated EU rules.

Apple was also quick to respond Four menA recent request, indicating that he has no intention of reinstating the game in South Korea.

“As mentioned earlier, we would welcome Epic’s return to the App Store if he agrees to follow the same rules as everyone else,” Apple said in a statement. “Epic has admitted that it has breached the agreement and to date, there is no valid reason to reinstate its developers’ account.”

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is expected to sign the document into law next week. The law would prohibit users of the platform from requiring users to pay only through app purchases.

Apple has made some recent approval on app payments, allowing other groups, such as Netflix and Spotify, to integrate their website links to skip the App Store fees and allow smaller developers to contribute low prices in other ways.

However, experts have said that in South Korea, developers could remain silent about joining Epic in a public fight with Apple or Google.

“Some foreign developers, especially Chinese companies, should try to use their existing systems in South Korea for a restructuring order. But local companies have to ‘wait and see’, they fear. [the US groups’] great potential in the market, ”says Wi Jong-hyun, professor of business administration at Chung-Ang University in Seoul.

“Home developers need Apple and Google apps anyway for their foreign business,” added Wi. “Especially for small-scale developers, Apple and Google have provided a tool to help with their external growth where they can spend more on advertising.”