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Epic is continuing to respond to its ongoing legal battle with Apple in… creative ways.
After initially launching the #FreeFortnite campaign, announced via a Fortnite parody of the classic 1984 Apple advert, Epic has now moved on to feature the #FreeFortnite Cup.
“These are the final days of the entire Fortnite community’s ability to play together. Apple has blocked Fortnite from the App Store, preventing players from updating to new versions,” said Epic Games on their website. “Players on iOS devices will be left behind on Chapter 2 – Season 3 while everyone else jumps into the Chapter 2 – Season 4 launch on August 27.”
As part of the event, Apple is giving away a (real-world) “Free Fortnite” hat, as well as, most tellingly, 1,200 phones, consoles, and PCs – in a fairly open bid to migrate iOS players to other platforms.
In the announcement, Epic has hardly been subtle about blaming Apple for preventing Fortnite from being on all platforms and ‘leaving players behind,’ – describing the event as the last opportunity for players to interact across all platforms.
The event will also feature the Tart Tycoon skin – an evil-looking, apple-headed businessman that we’re sure is in no way intended as a comment on any particular company whatsoever.
This is just the latest jab at Apple in an escalating legal battle, which began after Epic issued a lawsuit following the Apple blocking Fortnite from the App Store for offering direct payment methods, undercutting Apple’s 30 per cent cut of in-app purchases.
The situation has since escalated further, with Microsoft recently submitting a statement of support for Epic in their restraining order against Apple. Microsoft’s support was caused by Apple preparing Epic’s access to Apple’s developer tools. In effect, this means any developer using Unreal Engine would be unable to update their games, essentially halting all support for a huge range of titles – including Microsoft’s Forza series.
