Microsoft came to the defense of Epic, the maker of the popular video game Fortnite, claiming that the attempts by Apple to cut the firm off programming tools would harm other game developers and players too.
Epic Games is entangled in a legal dispute with Apple, after it tried to find a way around the iPhone maker’s commission payments causing it to be pulled out of the Apple Store.
Apple also threatened to cut Epic’s access to its programming tools needed to maintain Unreal Engine, a software platform that was developed by Epic and used to create graphics by many video game studios.
In a US court filing dealing with the case between Epic and Apple, a Microsoft manager said Unreal Engine “is critical technology for many game creators, including Microsoft.”
“Apple’s discontinuation of Epic’s ability to develop and support Unreal Engine for iOS or macOS will harm game creators and gamers,” wrote Kevin Gammill, Microsoft’s general manager of gaming developer experiences.
Apple has alleged that the Fortnite developer deserves to lose access to the programming tools because it breached their contract terms. They termed it as a ‘self inflicted wound.’
The major reason for the battle is Apple’s 30 percent take on the revenue generated from companies to sell their apps through its online store.
Last week, Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple after Fortnite was taken off the App Store by the tech giant for launching an update that dodges revenue sharing.
The new update features a payment mechanism that allows player payments to bypass the App Store, stopping the iPhone maker from taking the usual 30 percent share.
Epic has asked the court to get Apple to put Fortnite back in the App Store until the matter is resolved. Further, they are also trying to seek a court order that will stop Apple’s termination of its developer accounts.
Apple remains firm and responded that it will reverse its moves only if Epic resubmits a version of “Fortnite” that complies with its payment rules.
