Fortnite is giving away anti-Apple swag in an upcoming video game tournament

Fortnite developer and publisher Epic Games is dragging Apple into a global gaming event this Sunday that rewards players with anti-Apple prizes including the “Tart Tycoon,” a playable character that portrays the iPhone maker as a villainous executive. The event, dubbed “The #FreeFortnite Cup,” is the latest development in the showdown between Apple and Epic Games. Epic's complaint is the 30 percent fee it must pay Apple for selling digital items through its App Store, which it says is too high. Last week, Epic updated its game to circumvent those fees, prompting Apple to quickly pull Fortnite from its platform. The game developer responded by releasing this ad (also below) and filing a lawsuit against Apple alleging monopolistic behavior. Apple fired back last Tuesday by saying it will cut off Epic’s developer accounts on August 28. The move impacts the company’s lucrative side business, where Epic licenses its game-making software to other companies. “These are the final days of the entire Fortnite community’s ability to play together,” Epic Games wrote on its website. “Celebrate the quest for one more Victory Royale with friends across all platforms in the #FreeFortnite Cup this Sunday, August 23.” The company added that players can "win more prizes than ever before, including the new Tart Tycoon outfit, gaming hardware and exclusive apparel." Fortnite leveraging its vocal user base Epic's latest move signals its willingness to use everything at its disposal, including its 350 million users, to further tarnish Apple’s image and apply pressure against the Cupertino, California-based company to have its demands met. “Fortnite is definitely more than a game,” says Itamar Benedy, co-founder and CEO of Anzu.io, a leading in-game advertising company with clients including Pepsi, Samsung and American Eagle. “It’s a metaverse and a social network that currently has the potential to replace Facebook.” The stakes are also high for both companies. Apple in recent months has faced criticism from both lawmakers and other companies—including Microsoft, Spotify and news publishers—that its 30 percent fee is too high. Giving in to Epic might open the floodgates for other companies to request a similar reduction in fees. Losing access to iOS users indefinitely, meanwhile, would deliver a sizable blow to Epic’s bottom line: Excluding Apple’s cut, Fortnite generated $43 million in consumer spending on the App Store in the 30 days before its removal, according to Sensor Tower, a data and app intelligence company.

Fortnite is giving away anti-Apple swag in an upcoming video game tournament

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