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Apple ordered to not block Epic’s Unreal Engine, Fortnite to stay off App Store

techcrunch.com

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Re: Apple ordered to not block Epic’s Unreal Engine, Fortnite to stay off App Store

#11

Post by jamesdhutton »

daveoc64 wrote: post #10
jamesdhutton wrote: post #7

Can anyone explain exactly how Apple "blocks" Unreal Engine? I was under the impression that it's a 3rd-party library, available directly from Epic, that anybody is free to link their game to. So I'm struggling to understand the mechanism by which Apple blocks it. Any clarity on this would be appreciated.

Epic needs access to Apple's developer tools and documentation to continue developing the Unreal Engine software and libraries for macOS and iOS. Without access to those things, it would be difficult for Epic to produce new versions of the Unreal Engine, and game developers wouldn't want to use it any more.

Got it. Thanks.

Re: Apple ordered to not block Epic’s Unreal Engine, Fortnite to stay off App Store

#12

Post by misnome »

compsciphd wrote: post #8
jamesdhutton wrote: post #7

Can anyone explain exactly how Apple "blocks" Unreal Engine? I was under the impression that it's a 3rd-party library, available directly from Epic, that anybody is free to link their game to. So I'm struggling to understand the mechanism by which Apple blocks it. Any clarity on this would be appreciated.

they revoked Epic's developer account. if Epic is restricted from getting the tools needed to further develop Unreal Engine, that effectively prevents Epic from doing further development on it.

Aren’t the tools freely available without a developer account?

Re: Apple ordered to not block Epic’s Unreal Engine, Fortnite to stay off App Store

#13

Post by mschuster91 »

asutekku wrote: post #9
causality0 wrote: post #5

A victory for sanity. Apple threatening developmental licenses and anyone who used the Unreal Engine was nothing short of mafia-esque, and just as obviously Fortnite being restored to the app store is a matter for Epic's lawsuit against apple.

This is arguably false. The only license that would’ve been withdrawn was Epic’s. Not a single other developer using UE was targeted directly by Apple.

> Not a single other developer using UE was targeted directly by Apple.

But indirectly. If Epic doesn't have a developer license anymore, they cannot reasonably support their clients in implementing UE on any Apple hardware (and, depending on the licensing terms, they may not even legally support it...).

Re: Apple ordered to not block Epic’s Unreal Engine, Fortnite to stay off App Store

#14

Post by eru »

misnome wrote: post #12
compsciphd wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

they revoked Epic's developer account. if Epic is restricted from getting the tools needed to further develop Unreal Engine, that effectively prevents Epic from doing further development on it.

Aren’t the tools freely available without a developer account?

Even those come with a license, and Apple could probably have specifically revoked that license from Epic.

(I'm just speculating here.)

It's not so much about what's technically possible, but about what's legally allowed.

Re: Apple ordered to not block Epic’s Unreal Engine, Fortnite to stay off App Store

#15

Post by top_sigrid »

jamesdhutton wrote: post #7

Can anyone explain exactly how Apple "blocks" Unreal Engine? I was under the impression that it's a 3rd-party library, available directly from Epic, that anybody is free to link their game to. So I'm struggling to understand the mechanism by which Apple blocks it. Any clarity on this would be appreciated.

Apple threatened to block their complete developer account [1]. That would include blocking Epic from using dev tools.

-[1]:https://www.macrumors.com/2020/08/17/apple-terminate-epic-de...

Re: Apple ordered to not block Epic’s Unreal Engine, Fortnite to stay off App Store

#16

Post by pavlov »

misnome wrote: post #12
compsciphd wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

they revoked Epic's developer account. if Epic is restricted from getting the tools needed to further develop Unreal Engine, that effectively prevents Epic from doing further development on it.

Aren’t the tools freely available without a developer account?

While you can download Xcode with just a regular Apple ID, you can't really test your code on an iOS device without an Apple developer account, so the usefulness would be limited.

Re: Apple ordered to not block Epic’s Unreal Engine, Fortnite to stay off App Store

#17

Post by philliphaydon »

mschuster91 wrote: post #13
asutekku wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is arguably false. The only license that would’ve been withdrawn was Epic’s. Not a single other developer using UE was targeted directly by Apple.

> Not a single other developer using UE was targeted directly by Apple. But indirectly. If Epic doesn't have a developer license anymore, they cannot reasonably support their clients in implementing UE on any Apple hardware (and, depending on the licensing terms, they may not even legally support it...).

That's not true. Epic which developers Fortnite isn't the same holding company which developers UE. If Epic's game developers accounts are closed it should have no affect to the Epic accounts for UE.

* Epic Games, Inc. develops Fortnite and has an Apple developer account that it is released under.

* Epic Games International, S.a.r.l. develops Unreal Engine and holds its own Apple developer account.

So if the accounts of Epic Games, Inc. were closed, who cares. If Epic Games International's accounts were closed, then yes that's wrong of Apple to do.

Re: Apple ordered to not block Epic’s Unreal Engine, Fortnite to stay off App Store

#20

Post by IvanK_net »

I still wonder why so many people buy devices, where the only software you could run has to be approved by the manufacturer.

I think we should speak more about this fact, so that people think twice before they buy some device.

I only make websites, but I am worried, that at some point, Apple would want me to pay them, so that my website is openable on their devices.

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