The 12th of August is the date that marks the beginning of a conflict destined to leave an indelible mark on the world of video games.

八 吨 他12日是标记的冲突的开始注定要离开的视频游戏世界不可磨灭的印记的日期。

Fortnite, the iconic flagship title by Epic Games, has been removed from the App Store.

Epic Games的标志性旗舰产品Fortnite已从App Store中删除。

The reason? Epic decided to implement their own payment system for in-game transactions, bypassing the App Store and Apple’s infamous 30% tax.

原因？ Epic决定绕过App Store和苹果公司臭名昭著的30％税，实施自己的游戏交易支付系统。

Do not worry: for those who already have the app on their device, you can continue playing, but no new updates will be downloaded.

不用担心：对于那些已经在其设备上安装了该应用程序的用户，您可以继续播放，但不会下载新的更新。

Let’s see in detail what happened here and what this might mean for the future of the game.

让我们详细看看这里发生了什么，这可能对游戏的未来意味着什么。

(Responses from Apple and Google)

Apple’s reaction was decisive and rapid: the adoption of a payment system different from the one used by the Cupertino company constitutes an open violation of the contractual agreements between the App Store and anyone who wants to place a title with in-game payments on the platform (in this case Epic Games). If the game or app is in the store, Apple is guaranteed a 30% cut of the revenue.

苹果的决定性，SwiftReact是：采用不同于库比蒂诺公司使用的支付系统，这完全违反了App Store与任何想要在平台上放置带有游戏内支付标题的人之间的合同协议。 ( 在本例中为Epic Games )。 如果游戏或应用程序在商店中，则可以保证Apple收入减少了30％。

A similar agreement is in place with the Google Play Store, which led to Fortnite being removed from there just hours after it was removed from the App Store.

Google Play商店也达成了类似的协议，导致Fortnite从App Store移除后仅几个小时就从那里被移除了。

The one caveat here when it comes to Anroid users, however, is they are still able to play Fortnite on the platform by downloading it via the Epic Games app. Such a method does not exist on Apple devices, where it’s the App Store or nothing.

但是，对于Anroid用户来说，一个警告是，他们仍然可以通过Epic Games应用下载该游戏在平台上玩Fortnite 。 这种方法在苹果设备上根本不存在，它在App Store或什么都不是。




While this entire situation came to a head this week, it has been brewing for quite some time. Back in 2018, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, lashed out at Apple and Google saying that these companies:

尽管本周所有情况都达到了顶峰，但已经酝酿了一段时间。 回顾2018年，Epic Games首席执行官蒂姆·斯威尼(Tim Sweeney)抨击苹果和谷歌，称这些公司：

“ …generate huge profits from the sale of their devices and there’s no way to justify the 30% commission they charge to in-game transactions.”

“… 通过出售他们的设备产生了巨大的利润，而且没有办法证明他们收取的游戏内交易佣金的30％ 。”

Epic Games had already taken action on the PC front with the launch of the Epic Games Store in December 2018, with commissions set at 12% (much lower than those applied by Steam, always set at 30%).

随着2018年12月Epic Games Store的推出，Epic Games已经在PC方面采取了行动，佣金设定为12％( 远低于Steam申请的佣金，始终设定为30％ )。

An aggressive and competitive strategy that Sweeney and associates have decided to finally bring over to the mobile landscape.

Sweeney及其同事决定采取一种积极进取的竞争策略，最终将其带入移动领域。

(Apple in court)

Epic Games seems to be well prepared and has already taken decisive action in what was clearly a coordinated attack. By introducing their new direct payment system into Fortnite, they knew Apple (and Google) would likely yank the app from both storefronts. When that inevitably happened, Epic was ready and waiting with two separate lawsuits to take on the two behemoths.

史诗般的游戏似乎已经做好了充分的准备，并且已经在明显的协同攻击中采取了果断的行动。 通过将新的直接付款系统引入Fortnite ，他们知道Apple(和Google)可能会从这两个店面中撤出该应用程序。 当不可避免地发生这种情况时，Epic准备就绪并等待两个单独的诉讼来对付这两个庞然大物。

In the published court documents, Epic details its plan of seeking an injunction to put an end to this practice, judged as “monopolistic” by the company’s lawyers.

在已发布的法院文件中，Epic详细说明了其寻求制止这种做法的禁令的计划，该计划被公司律师判定为“垄断”。


Apple is accused of being “a giant that aims to control the markets, block the competition, and curb the innovation.”

苹果被指控为“旨在控制市场，阻止竞争并遏制创新的巨头”。

Epic Games proposes itself as a champion of justice in a world dominated by the excessive power of Apple.

Epic Games声称自己在一个由苹果强大能力统治的世界中，是正义的拥护者。

The basis for Epic’s legal action dates back to 130 years ago with the passing of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Feeling the need to fight against monopolies in the 19th Century, the law was passed in 1890 and is the basis for the US’ modern antitrust law.

Epic采取法律行动的基础可以追溯到130年前，当时通过了《谢尔曼反托拉斯法》。 鉴于在19世纪需要与垄断进行斗争，该法律于1890年获得通过，是美国现代反托拉斯法的基础。

Epic Games claims that Apple has not complied with six points of the Sherman Act, putting in place, among other violations, an “ unlawful monopoly “ with its App Store, and “ unreasonable restraints of trade “ in the distribution of apps on iOS devices.

Epic Games声称，苹果未遵守《谢尔曼法》的六点规定，其中包括在其App Store中进行“ 非法垄断 ”以及在iOS设备上分发应用时“ 不合理地限制贸易 ”等违规行为。

(1984?)

Epic Games has not only sued Apple, but they also decided to act vigorously on the media front.

Epic Games不仅起诉了苹果，而且还决定在媒体方面采取积极行动。

Shortly after the removal of Fortnite from the App Store, a short video titled “Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite” was published that openly parodies the famous Macintosh computer launch advertisement shown in 1984.

在将Fortnite从App Store中删除后不久，发布了一个简短的视频，标题为“ 十九八十堡垒 ”，公开模仿了1984年显示的著名Macintosh计算机启动广告。


The situation has turned around, and in the Epic Games version, the public is invited to join the battle under the hashtag #freefortnite.

情况已经好转，在Epic Games版本中，邀请公众以#freefortnite标签参加这场战斗。


The revolutionary is always a woman, but this time it’s a character from Fortnite, pickaxe and all.

革命者总是女人，但这次是Fortnite ，镐和其他角色的角色。

In the end, a message appears that celebrates the efforts of Fortnite publishers and developers:

最后，出现一条消息，庆祝Fortnite发行商和开发人员的努力：

Epic Games has challenged the App Store monopoly.

Epic Games挑战了App Store的垄断地位。

In retaliation, Apple blocks Fortnite on a billion devices.

作为报复，苹果在十亿台设备上阻止了Fortnite。

Join the battle to keep 2020 from becoming 1984.

加入战斗，以使2020年不再成为1984年。

A certainly brilliant tactic, which accuses Apple of having turned into bad guys and failing to practice what they used to preach, of wanting to become the standard-bearer of a more open and varied market.

无疑是一个绝妙的策略，指责苹果已经变成了坏蛋，没有实践他们过去讲的话，而是想成为一个更加开放和多样化的市场的旗手。


How this whole debacle plays out could have a huge impact not only in the videogame industry, but also on digital storefronts/marketplaces in general. Time will tell where the chips fall once this is all said and done.

整个崩溃的发生方式不仅会对视频游戏行业产生巨大影响，而且还会对整个数字店面/市场产生巨大影响。 一旦说完这些，时间就会告诉芯片落在哪里。