Fun and games over as Apple’s relationship with Epic sours
Los Angeles/Portland — In 2011, when Apple CEO Tim Cook wanted to show off the first major product under his leadership — the iPhone 4S — the company invited Epic Games onto the stage. Mike Capps, Epic Games’s president at the time, made a quick joke about how much money his company’s games made from Apple devices. Then he helped run a demo of Infinity Blade II, designed to showcase both Epic’s new game and the power of the latest iPhone’s chip.
It was a public demonstration of a close corporate relationship that has since disintegrated. On May 3 a federal court will begin hearing arguments in a trial centred on Epic’s claims that Apple extracts money from developers by abusing its market power, and Apple’s counterclaims that Epic breached its contract. The financial stakes could extend into the billions of dollars, and the decision may have ramifications for tens of thousands of mobile developers. On April 30 the European Commission charged that Apple’s restrictions on develo...
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