KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 — Fortnite is without a doubt one of the hottest games on the planet now with over 350 million registered players. But earlier today, its creator Epic Games implemented its own in-app payment system that bypassed Apple and Google’s standard 30 per cent fee.

This resulted in both Apple and Google pulling the popular battle royale game from their respective app stores. The decision marks an escalation in the feud between Epic and the world’s two dominant app marketplaces.

In July, Epic’s co-founder and chief executive officer Tim Sweeney said in an interview with Protocol:

More recently, Sweeney criticised Apple over Twitter over the banning of cloud gaming services like Microsoft’s Cloud, Google’s Stadia and Nvidia’s GeForce Now.

Both Apple and Google issued their own statements on the matter with Apple saying:

Google meanwhile said:

The Fortnite creator said in a blog post that it was offering players up to 20 per cent discount for purchases of V-Bucks across all versions of the game on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac and mobile. For those unfamiliar with the game, V-Bucks is an in-game currency that is used by players to purchase outfits, weapons, Battle Passes and more.

Below is a table that shows the difference in price that players pay using Epic’s direct payment com[ared with the Play Store and App Store.

To sweeten the deal even further Epic offered players the Shooting Starstaff Pickaxe for free. It is a move that actively encouraged players to use Epic’s direct payment method.

Epic seemed to have anticipated Apple would ban its app. It followed up with a video that mocked Apple’s iconic "1984” advertisement which aired on YouTube and within Fortnite itself. It also called on gaming fans to support the developer in its fight against Apple.

Epic has also taken legal action against Apple and Google for pulling the game from the app store. Interestingly, in Epic’s suit against Google, it claimed that Google forced OnePlus to break off a deal that would have seen a special Fortnite launcher preinstalled on OnePlus phones. This was following Google’s concern about Epic’s ability to bypass the Play Store. — SoyaCincau