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Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney of Apple, Google, China and the ‘metaverse’


NS Epic Games CEO has been waging a relentless attack on Apple, after the tech giant removed its hugely popular video game Fortnite from the App Store. Apple said at the time that Epic had bypassed the rules of digital payments by setting up its own system.
Epic sued Apple in response, starting with the public testing. Apple has argued that its rigid payment system exists to protect the security and privacy of its developers and customers, and that it is only a small part of the video game market – and therefore no monopoly.
Sweeney sees things differently. Companies like Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOGLE), he argues, holds immense power over the app market. Their control prevents consumers and companies from choosing how they do business.
The case is still proceeding through the US courts, but in October a judge ruled that Apple can no longer ban app developers from directing users to payment options outside of its App Store. However, the judge stopped calling Apple a monopoly, and the company ban Fortnite from its devices until the legal battle is over, which could bring the game back to the iPhone for several years.
CNN Business caught up with Sweeney in Seoul, where he was attending the Global Conference on Mobile Application Ecosystem Equity – an event hosted by South Korean lawmaker Jo Seounglae. Recent country legislation allows application developers to use alternative payment systems.
We asked Sweeney questions about that law, as well as his ongoing battle with Apple, Fortnite’s failed foray into China, and his thoughts on the “metaverse,” the virtual world. Facebook (Facebook) its future. Our Q&A has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

South Korea recently passed a bill banning mandatory in-app purchases and requiring tech companies to allow alternative payments. What do you think?

Initially, I was pleased to see that Korea was taking the lead. Korea is one of the leading technology powers in the world, with Samsung (SSNLF) and all the great game developers all over Korea. It’s great to see that Korea actually protects developers, including all Korean developers, against these bad practices. [by] Apple and Google.

How much revenue and revenue did Epic Games lose due to being excluded from the Apple ecosystem?

Fortnite has made hundreds of millions of dollars, and with Fortnite not on iOS, it’s losing a lot now. But fortunately, Fortnite was also successful on PCs and consoles. So the business continues to thrive, even without iOS.

Apple refuses to bring Fortnite back to App Store

But it just shows how much power Apple can use and can completely eliminate the existence of an iOS game. No platform company should have that power, right? Consumers should get free software installed. And developers should be free to create software, and the platform company should never stand between them.

Do you regret how the legal battle between Apple and Google went?

We always knew it would be a slow and complicated case. Both Apple and Epic have recognized from the outset that whatever happens in the District Court… the decision will be appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court in the United States, and if possible, to the Supreme Court. United States, to make the final decision. . And so this will inevitably last for many years.

Do you have something to say to the people who influence this issue in the US?

Ultimately, this is a fight for the benefit of the consumer. Although the disputes are mainly between companies and governments, smartphone owners have the right to install software from sources of their choice and do business directly with developers without The platform company charges additional taxes and fees for every transaction. … It’s about people’s basic freedom to do business together directly if they want to.

I think it’s the most important fight for digital rights in the industry right now. As more and more of our lives move online and become digital – all of our digital interactions are increasingly controlled by Google and Apple.

If we allow the world’s two most powerful corporations to control our online lives, it will become a force even stronger than the government.

Epic spent a long time working on the launch of Fortnite in China, but that didn’t happen. Is that time and effort worth it?

I’m glad we tried. There have always been many uncertainties about the future of the US-China relationship, and unfortunately, they have been tense over the past few years. And we don’t see a realistic possibility of getting approval to launch in China. So we gave up trying, but I think it’s a good effort.
& # 39;  Fortnite & # 39;  is closed in China

The team did a great job and I wish there was a way, but I think there will be a long time where there will be a separation between consumer services in China and globally.

What is “Metaverse” to you?

It’s a social real-time 3D entertainment experience. It’s you and your friends together in a 3D world, having fun in different ways. You can play games like Fortnite Battle Royale, you can go to a concert, you can dance, or you can just stand around and chat. Those are all kinds of social interactions that we can have in 3D real time with our group of friends.

How do you envision the future in the metaverse? Was it really a game changer, like the Internet when it was introduced?

I think it will take a decade or more to really get to the bottom, but I think it’s happening. And that would be a better online experience than we have today. It will work because it’s better.

Metaverse does not require novel hardware. It doesn’t require all that actual hardware or [virtual reality] or things that haven’t been invented yet. You can go online and start experiencing this right now.

The next step of this metaverse evolution is to open up broader experiences to bring to the next billion users.

What is a number? afterward The biggest barrier to making it happen?

Metaverse will not be created by one company. It will be created by millions of developers, each developer building a part of it.

Another challenge is building the economy. To have the millions of developers building for the metaverse, you need to have a business that they can make as much or more of the effort as, developing software to support their business.

Roblox wants to rule the metaverse

We need to win the war against platform monopolies, because Apple and Google now have rules to prevent reverse behavior on the Google Play Store and on iOS. They have web browser containment rules in place – you’re only allowed to use their web browser.

They do not allow commerce to be made directly with the user. They don’t allow code to run on your local device if it hasn’t been reviewed by Apple and Google. Metaverse needs to support all of this, so we really need to win this battle to open up the platforms before the metaverse can truly exist.

– Rishi Iyengar and Jill Disis contributed to this report.

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