Epic CEO Tim Sweeney Admits App Store's 30% Cut Is Similar to Consoles, Would Have Accepted Special Deal With Apple

Apple's legal battle with Epic Games is continuing on, and during the second day of the trial, ‌Epic Games‌' CEO Tim Sweeney continued his testimony against Apple.

fortnite apple logo 2
Sweeney was grilled by Apple's lawyers, and made several points seemingly favorable to Apple. In addition to mentioning how he prefers Apple's iPhone and values Apple's privacy policies that he's aiming to dismantle, Sweeney confirmed that Apple's 30 percent cut is also the "most prevalent rate" that other platforms charge.

Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo all take a 30 percent cut from ‌Epic Games‌ on their platforms and require their in-app purchase systems to be used, but Sweeney said that Epic is not challenging them because he believes in the idea of "subsidized hardware," though he also admitted that ‌iPhone‌ and iOS development is "very similar." It's also worth noting that Fortnite makes more money on console platforms than it does from iOS.

Sweeney confirmed that ‌Epic Games‌ has a history of bullying platform makers. ‌Epic Games‌ pushed Sony into allowing cross-platform play, but Sony ultimately got the upper hand and requires additional payment to enable cross-platform capabilities, unlike iOS, where cross-platform play is free and has been since Fortnite launched on the App Store.

Apple pointed out ‌Epic Games‌' use of Apple's Metal API and shared correspondence where Sweeney and Epic had praised Metal in the past as evidence that Epic benefits from Apple's APIs and SDKs. From an Epic internal email discussing a quote to give to Apple:

We've been making use of Metal on iOS to great effect since its release in 2014. A fast, agile, feature-rich API like Metal is exactly what we need to bring a game designed for modern consoles and desktops to the battery-powered iPhone and iPad. As a developer, it blows away OpenGL in every way.

Starting in 2015, Sweeney began trying to convince Apple to make the ‌App Store‌ an open platform.

tim sweeney email cook
Humorously, when he got Sweeney's initial email, Cook didn't know who Sweeney was. "Is this the guy that was at one of our rehearsals?" he asked Phil Schiller in a forwarded email.

When asked whether he would have accepted a special deal from Apple for a lower ‌App Store‌ commission, Sweeney said "Yes, I would have," which seems to weaken Epic's argument that its decision to kick off a legal battle with Apple was done to benefit all developers.

At the conclusion of today's questioning, Sweeney was asked what he would do if ‌Epic Games‌ loses the case. In response, he said that Apple would be able to cut off Fortnite and remove ‌Epic Games‌ from the developer program for any reason. "We would have to live with not supporting the iOS platform," he said.

The legal fight between Apple and Epic will continue for three weeks, with Apple executives like Tim Cook set to testify during the third week. We'll have ongoing coverage of Apple v. Epic as the case continues on.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

iPhone Foldable Display Said to Feature iPad-Style 4:3 Aspect Ratio

Friday March 28, 2025 3:44 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming "iPhone Fold" will feature a foldable screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, according to a Chinese leaker who previously leaked the book-style device's display dimensions. The Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station claims that Apple will adopt a "roughly" 4:3 aspect ratio on the inner display in order to achieve consistency between the outer display, as well as to ensure parity...

Top Rated Comments

Think|Different Avatar
51 months ago
Case closed. ?‍⚖️
Score: 62 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rudigern Avatar
51 months ago
It has been clear from the beginning that EPIC is just trying to push their market dominance, not fight for the little guy. This just confirms what anyone knowledgable already knew.
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChromeCloud Avatar
51 months ago
I propose a new "special deal": 30% goes to Apple, 30% goes to Epic Games, 40% goes to charity.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
logicalhuman Avatar
51 months ago
I tend to stop paying attention to those that include “y’all” in their speech anyway.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
countryside Avatar
51 months ago
I am really confused if/how EPIC thinks they can win this...

What is in it for them? Beyond a slim chance of winning?

Is it the 'all publicity is good publicity' mindset? Not to mention they are losing out on iOS revenue? And look like a spoiled entitled brat?
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sonsofnarcissus Avatar
51 months ago

I tend to stop paying attention to those that include “y’all” in their speech anyway.
I think "Yo Tim Apple" might have been more appropriate.
Seriously....you send an email to the CEO of a trillion dollar company and start off with "y'all". What a joke!
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)