Apple has approved 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 on X posted a message accusing Apple of rejecting the Epic Games Store notarization submission twice due to similarities with Apple’s own App Store. A few hours later, the account shared that the Epic Games Store submission had now been accepted.
The Epic Games Store is a virtual store where consumers can purchase various games, including Fortnite.
“Apple has now rejected our application for Epic Games Store notarization twice, 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 original post on the Epic Games Newsroom account reads.
The posts quickly went viral, receiving more than 811,400 views and 5,000 likes.
In follow-up posts, the Epic Games account said that labeling buttons as “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 request has now been accepted,” the Epic Games Newsroom reported on X on 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 using Apple’s TestFlight program.
It is unclear whether Apple accepted Epic Games’ notarization request due to the negative reactions online.
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 Apple has asked Epic Games to make its Marketplace less like the Apple App Store in the future.
Epic Games has been fighting against app store companies like Apple and Google for years. According to the CEO of Apple and Google, large parts of the revenue from various applications are unfairly seized, while these apps offer few additional options.
In June, an EU commission announced it would launch an investigation into Apple for failing to comply with the DMA over concerns about the Apple App Store. The press release alleged that Apple does not allow app developers to be fully independent from the Apple App Store.