Microsoft has entered the Epic vs. Apple drama chat, filing a legal statement in support of Epic Games retaining its Apple Developer Program access. This comes after Apple threatened to have Epic’s access removed; something which would negatively impact all Unreal Engine-based games on iOS and Mac.
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer recently announced the company’s support for Epic keeping its Apple Developer Program access, via Twitter.
Today we filed a statement in support of Epic’s request to keep access to the Apple SDK for its Unreal Engine. Ensuring that Epic has access to the latest Apple technology is the right thing for gamer developers & gamers https://t.co/72bLdDkvUx
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) August 23, 2020
Microsoft has had their fair share of disagreements with Apple, so their support for Epic and all the Unreal Engine developers that would be unfairly impacted by Apple’s threats, shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Earlier this month, for instance, Microsoft revealed that their xCloud game streaming service won’t be available on iOS devices; laying the blame on Apple’s restrictive and inconsistent App Store rules.
This statement only applies to Apple’s threat to remove Epic’s Apple Developer Program privileges, though. Microsoft hasn’t mentioned anything about Epic’s original law suit regarding Apple’s (and Google’s) alleged anti-competitive behaviour.
The termination of Epic’s access to the Apple Developer Program is currently due to go ahead on 28 August 2020.
Via SlashGear.
