In partnership with Samsung, Fortnite took another humorous jab at the conflict between Epic Games and Apple with more #FreeFortnite merchandise this week. As fans know, the two companies have been engaged in a lawsuit since this past summer after Epic Games changed Fortnite's payment process on iOS and Android devices, which Apple said violated its terms of service.
The conflict began when Epic Games implemented a price reduction and a change in how users pay for Fortnite's V-bucks, the in-game currency. Rather than going through Apple's payment systems, users would pay Epic directly, which eliminated Apple's 30 percent cut of the payment. Apple pulled Fortnite from its app store so that new users could no longer download the game and current users could not update it. The move led Epic to file a lawsuit against Apple on the grounds that the company constitutes a monopoly over the mobile game market, since game developers can only reach Apple's one billion mobile devices users via its tightly controlled app store.
Amid the anti-trust war between Epic Games and Apple, Epic has taken the opportunity to have some fun with a #FreeFortnite movement and lightly mock its competitor. The latest jab came on Monday, as Kinda Funny's Greg Miller shared on Twitter a #FreeFortnite-themed package he received from Epic and Samsung. Photos showed a large white box that looked strikingly similar to Apple's product packaging, with "Free Fortnite" on top of the box and a small Fortnite llama logo on the side.
Inside the box was a Free Fortnite black bomber jacket with a rainbow llama similar to Apple's vintage logo embroidered on the back, as well as a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7. A note revealed that Fortnite was named the Samsung Galaxy Store game of the year and encouraged people to spread the #FreeFortnite hashtag. Fortnite updates are available from the Epic Games app on the Galaxy Store.
This wasn't the first time that Epic took advantage of its own legal battle in a PR move. The #FreeFortnite idea originated in August when Epic launched an entire in-game tournament themed around the lawsuit, complete with even more #FreeFortnite parody swag. The event even featured a parody commercial that mocked Apple's famous 1984 Super Bowl ad.
It's been quite a treat to see Epic continue to poke fun at Apple and the whole controversy while taking the lawsuit seriously at the same time. Given Fortnite's 350 million players, Apple had to know that something huge would come out of removing the game from the app store. The saga continues, but for now, Epic is working to make things up to users who play Fortnite on Apple.
Source: Greg Miller/Twitter