If Epic Games has not misjudged this: According to one analyst, the software company is losing a whopping $26.7 million a month due to Apple’s App Store bankruptcy. In addition, Apple is now suing the company in the dispute over the revenues to “Fortnite”.
Epic Games has made a good fight with Apple, and now the software company seems to be feeling the consequences.
The game developer had secretly installed its own in-app purchasing system in the popular online game “Fortnite”, which it wanted to avoid paying 30 percent commission to Apple. Apple, however, immediately got wind of the matter – an App Store kick-out was the consequence.
Epic Games was prepared for this and immediately filed a lawsuit against Apple. But now the tide seems to be turning. As an analyst from the finance company Buy Shares explains, the software company is losing a whopping $26.7 million a month due to the App Store bankruptcy.
App Store Bounce: Apple Epic Games really hits hard
“Fortnite” sales on both iOS and Android are said to have fallen by 62.23 percent in July and August 2020.
Specifically, revenues from the App Store fell to 12.36 million US dollars last month. And through the Google Play Store, Epic Games only generated 6.94 million US dollars.
In comparison: Before the App Store was thrown out in July 2020, the games developer had earned 34.36 million US dollars through Apple. In the Google Play Store it was 18.14 million US dollars.
According to Buy Shares, Epic Games even generated 191.42 million US dollars in revenues from January to August 2020 through “Fortnite” in the Apple App Store. The platform is therefore by no means unimportant for the software company.
In a direct comparison, Epic Games was able to generate 101.48 million US dollars in revenues through the Google Play Store in the same period. But the App Store revenue is almost twice as high, so Apple is probably the more important source of revenue.
“Catastrophic consequences” for Epic Games – and what about Apple?
Buy Shares predicts “catastrophic consequences” for Epic Games due to the App Store bankruptcy. But what is the situation for Apple?
After all, “Fortnite” is still a very lucrative source of income for Apple. And Apple might not necessarily want to give it away voluntarily.
The company therefore initially offered Epic Games the opportunity to reverse the App Store kick-out and resume “Fortnite” – provided Epic would stick to the rules.
Apple submits counterclaims
In the meantime, however, Apple has gone one step further – and has filed a countersuit. The company is demanding compensation from Epic Games for the loss of revenue because the game developer has violated the contract it signed with Apple.
According to Apple, Epic presents itself as a “modern Robin Hood”, even though the company actually weighs billions and does not want to pay for the benefits it receives from the App Store.
It is difficult to predict the outcome of the legal dispute at the moment. What is certain, however, is that the financial losses for both sides will increase the longer the dispute continues.
