Apple’s response to Epic threatens the future of VR, AR, TV, and films

Epic’s lawsuit against Apple was already monumental when it solely focused on the iOS App Store, a walled garden that has grown to an intercontinental size with 1.5 billion supported devices. Yesterday, the battle between the Fortnite creator and platform holder leveled up after Apple explicitly threatened the future of Epic’s Mac and Unreal Engine businesses — a move with direct consequences for virtual reality, augmented reality, TV, and film developers beyond Epic and Apple themselves.

That threat was nestled in a letter from Apple, currently labeled Exhibit B in Epic’s request for a temporary restraining order to protect its business. On pages 52 and 53 of the 197-page filing, Apple says that it plans to terminate Epic’s developer license over the addition of an alternate payment mechanism to the iOS version of Fortnite, and spells out the consequences.