Epic Games says Apple is threatening its access to developer tools

Epic Games wants you to know that Apple isn't playing nice.

The gaming giant behind Fortnite cried foul Monday, highlighting supposed "retaliation" at the hands of Apple. At issue is Epic Games' access to macOS and iOS developer tools and accounts, which it says Apple has threatened to cut off after a dispute over in-app purchases got Fortnite booted from the App Store last week.

"Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and has informed Epic that on Friday, August 28 Apple will terminate all our developer accounts and cut Epic off from iOS and Mac development tools," wrote an Epic Games spokesperson. "We are asking the court to stop this retaliation."

On Monday, Epic Games filed a complaint with the United States District Court of Northern California. The company hopes the court will force Apple to hold off on its plans, at least for the time being.

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We reached out to Apple to confirm that it does indeed intend to cut off Epic Games from its developer tools. In response, an Apple spokesperson merely pointed us to a company statement from last week.

"The fact that [Epic Games'] business interests now lead them to push for a special arrangement does not change the fact that these [App Store] guidelines create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users," reads the statement in part. "We will make every effort to work with Epic to resolve these violations so they can return Fortnite to the App Store."

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Notably, Apple is not the only company to take umbrage with Epic Games in recent days. Just last week Google kicked Fortnite out of the Google Play store for essentially the same reason Apple removed it from the App Store. It seems neither Apple nor Google appreciate Epic Games' attempt to cut the tech giants out of the equation when it comes to in-app purchases (and their respective percentage cuts).

Epic Games, which clearly saw all this coming, has filed lawsuits against both Apple and Google in addition to Monday's complaint.