By Vega
In a major blow to maker of “Fortnite”, Apple has terminated the developer account of Epic Games, yanking all of the company’s titles from its App Store.
The move comes amid a heated legal battle between the two companies which was kickstarted when Epic Games implemented a payments system which would allow it to get around Apple’s steep 30 percent app store fees.
Apple responded by promptly booting the mega-popular “Fortnite” from the App Store.
With Friday’s move, a search for “Epic Games” on the App Store brings up no results, meaning that all of the company’s games — including popular hack-and-slash game “Infinity Blade” — are now impossible to download on the iPhone and iPad.
Spared, however, is Epic’s Unreal Engine, a tool used by game developers and filmmakers to create three-dimensional graphics. A judge earlier this week barred Apple from restricting access to the Unreal Engine as retaliation for Epic’s rule-breaking.
“Epic Games and Apple are at liberty to litigate against each other, but their dispute should not create havoc to bystanders,” the judge wrote in the decision.
