Apple approves Epic Games Store for EU after company’s public appeal

Apple has given the green light to the Epic Games Store in the European Union after the gaming company publicly complained that the tech giant had repeatedly rejected its application, which Epic Games said was a violation of EU law.

On Friday morning, the Epic Games Newsroom account posted a message on X accusing Apple of twice rejecting the Epic Games Store’s notarization request due to similarities to Apple’s App Store. Hours later, the account reported that the Epic Games Store’s notarization request had since been granted.

The Epic Games Store is a virtual store that allows consumers to purchase various games, including Fortnite.

“Apple has twice denied our request to notarize the Epic Games Store, claiming that the design and position of Epic’s “Install” button is too similar to Apple’s “Get” button and that our “In-App Purchases” label is too similar to the App Store’s “In-App Purchases” label,” the Epic Games Newsroom account initially posted.

The posts quickly went viral, receiving over 811,400 views and 5,000 likes.

In follow-up posts, the Epic Games account said that naming the buttons “Install” and “In-App Purchases” was standard industry convention and that Apple was “arbitrary, obstructive and in violation” of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).

“Update: Apple has informed us that our previously rejected Epic Games Store notarization submission has now been accepted,” the Epic Games Newsroom posted on X Friday afternoon.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney also shared the news on X, adding that “development is back on track.” He also complained about delays in using Apple’s TestFlight program.

It is unclear whether Apple granted Epic Games’ notarization request due to the negative online reaction.

Epic Games did not respond to a request for comment.

An Apple representative confirmed in a statement to NBC News that the Epic Sweden AB Marketplace app has now been approved, but that they have asked Epic Games to make its Marketplace less similar to Apple’s App Store in the future.

Epic Games has been waging a years-long battle against app store companies like Apple and Google, which its CEO says unfairly take large cuts of revenue from a variety of apps that offer few additional options.

In June, the European Commission announced that it would open an investigation into Apple for failing to comply with the DMA due to concerns about the Apple App Store. The press release claimed that Apple was not allowing app developers to be fully independent from the Apple App Store.