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In the latest installment in the Epic Games and Apple debacle, the developer is holding a #FreeFortnite Cup which will award winners with Apple-themed prizes.
The top-scoring players of this tournament (beginning April 23) will receive a Tart Tycoon Outfit, which was seen in the mocking “Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite” film. Epic Games is also giving away 1,200 pieces of gaming hardware, including an Alienware laptop, a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7, a OnePlus 8, and more. Last but not least, there’s an exclusive hat decorated with a parody of Apple’s logo, and it reads “Free Fortnite.”
This is … surely something. The word is right on the tip of my tongue. Rhymes with “schmbarrassing.” It’ll come to me, I’m sure. This whole thing is the result of the two companies’ continued spat, sparked after Epic Games violated App Store terms of service by adding in a direct payment option for Fortnite players on iOS. Apple removed the game from the App Store for this infraction. Apparently anticipating a backlash, Epic Games released a film satirising Apple’s 1984 advert, and criticised it for cultivating a choking “monopoly” over developers.
Why Epic Games chose to mock the advert, which was an iconic moment from before the majority of Fortnite’s player base were born, is unknown. Why it then elected to sue Apple and Google for taking Fortnite off of the App Store and the Play Store, despite deliberately violating both platforms policies, is unknown.
“These are the final days of the entire Fortnite community’s ability to play together,” said Epic Games. “Apple has blocked Fortnite from the App Store, preventing players from updating to new versions. Players on iOS devices will be left behind on Chapter 2 – Season 3 while everyone else jumps into the Chapter 2 – Season 4 launch on August 27. To ALL of our Fortnite players: thank you for your support and for blazing the trail with us on cross-play across console, Mobile, PC and Mac. We look forward to the day when everyone can squad up with all their friends again. Good luck in the #FreeFortnite Cup!”
