“When Apple refused to fundamentally alter the way it does business to appease Epic, Epic resorted to sudden, unilateral action that blatantly breached its contracts with Apple, and simultaneously filed this lawsuit, which seeks to justify its deliberate breaches after the fact,” Schiller said. 

The tech giant goes on to compare Epic’s recent attempt to bypass the App Store by allowing Fortnite players to buy in-game currency to shoplifting. “If developers can avoid the digital checkout, it is the same as if a customer leaves an Apple retail store without paying for shoplifted product: Apple does not get paid.” 

Apple delisted Fortnite on August 13th shortly after Epic started offering discounts on the title’s in-game currency if players bypassed the App Store. Shortly afterward, Epic responded by launching a lawsuit against Apple in which it claimed the App Store violates antitrust law. It also found time to parody Apple’s famous 1984 Macintosh ad. Later that same day, Google removed Fortnite from the Play Store. Epic responded with a lawsuit there as well. 

The legal battle Apple and Epic find themselves locked in is a risky one for both companies. Apple faces the potential of drawing even more scrutiny to itself. Meanwhile, Epic could see Fortnite permanently barred from the App Store and without a way to update the Unreal Engine, which many third-party developers depend on for their iOS games. The court will hear Epic’s request for a restraining order on Monday. 

These permanent discounts are a bold move. They essentially incentivize avoiding Apple and Google’s in-app payment methods. On mobile, players will see the App Store or Google Play payment option next to the Epic direct payment option. The side-by-side comparison makes it pretty clear how you’ll be ripped off if you buy through Apple or Google. Epic says it’s simply passing on the savings it sees by not paying the Apple-Google fees to players.

Epic Games

Epic isn’t the only company to push back against Apple and Google’s fees for in-app purchases. Spotify, Basecamp and Telegram have complained, too. The US federal antitrust probe is taking a close look at Apple’s App Store policies, and Apple and the App Store are facing an antitrust investigation in the EU.

The tax forms won’t clarify matters, though. Schedule 1 in Form 1040 asks taxpayers if they have “any financial interest in any virtual currency” without a definition or an indication of what to do next. While many will check with the IRS for a clarification or simply assume the tax bureau is referring to crypto, this could lead to confusion for gamers who aren’t sure if their in-game cash needs to be declared.

The ambiguity has prompted calls for the IRS to explicitly outline its approach to in-game currency, and it might need to take action relatively soon given the sheer volume of transactions in games. Fortnite alone racked up an estimated $1.8 billion in worldwide revenue in 2019 from people buying season passes and cosmetic gear. While only a fraction of in-game currency use is likely to be of any concern to the US government, the numbers might grow too large for officials to ignore.