If you are one of my few readers then you’re probably already aware that Epic Games is suing both Apple and Google, claiming the the former “is able to extract a supra-competitive 30% tax on purchases of paid apps” while the latter similarly “imposes a supra- competitive commission of 30% on the price of apps purchased .” These lawsuits are the culmination of a large publicity stunt that started with deliberately violating both stores‘ guidelines by exposing direct payment options and thus circumventing their associated fees.

As I wrote on Twitter, I think Apple unhealthily leans on App Store fees to boost revenue growth. I’ll add here that I believe protecting these fees has taken priority over both user experience and developer relations, and that Apple’s reputation has taken countless hits as a result. That said, Epic isn’t merely trying to force app stores into lowering their fees or allowing third party payment processors, they are trying to force Apple and Google into allowing their own games store.

From their complaints against Apple and Google, emphasis mine:

Apple’s conduct harms Epic which, as a direct result of Apple’s anti- competitive conduct, is unreasonably prevented from freely distributing mobile apps or its in-app payment processing tool, and forfeits a higher commission rate on the in-app purchases than it would pay absent Apple’s conduct.

Google’s conduct harms Epic which, as a direct result of Google’s anti-competitive conduct, is _unreasonably prevented from freely distributing mobile apps__ or its in-app payment processing tool, and forfeits a higher commission rate on the in-app purchases than it would pay absent Google’s conduct.

Epic wants iOS and Android devices to be more like personal computers, where users are empowered to more-or-less install software from anywhere. By having their own store on Windows, Epic not only gets to sell their own games directly without paying anyone 30%, they also get a 12% cut being the store selling other publishers’ games. Not only does that 12% already vastly undercut their competition, it also includes the 5% license for Epic’s popular Unreal engine.

Currently, both iPhone and Android devices are more like video game consoles¹ where all software distribution is controlled² by the platform owner. With video game consoles, software distribution has historically been controlled via hardware DRM, proprietary cartridges or discs, and costly dev kits. Increasingly though, players are buying their Nintendo, Playstation, and Xbox games online from The Nintendo Online Store, PlayStation Store, and The Microsoft Store³ respectively. This raises the question, why isn’t Epic targeting console makers given they purportedly charge similar fees?

My guess is that video game consoles are the ultimate target.

Hear me out. Epic wants its store on video game consoles, but like iOS and Android, they are closed platforms. It could also sue the makers of those consoles like it’s done with Apple and Google, but doing so comes with several disadvantages.

1. Part of their strategy is to win in the court of public opinion, but gamers infamously love their consoles so an attack on their makers would very likely backfire.
2. Epic doesn’t want to risk retaliation from console makers.
3. Video game consoles have a long, established history of being closed systems that will be harder to overturn without precedent.

So what do you do if you’re Epic? You sue just Google and Apple instead. They are easy to win against in the court of public opinion with gamers, especially right after both were subject to the same congressional antitrust hearing. Their devices don’t make up a large number of your most valuable players (many of which probably have another device they can play on anyways). There is less history with closed smartphone platforms so its easier to make both legal and laymen arguments they should be forced to open. Finally and most importantly, Apple and Google have closed platforms that are increasingly no different than those of Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony. Put another way, lawsuits against Apple and Google are more popular, less risky, and easier to win.

And winning these lawsuits gives Epic precedent.