The last witness in the trial between Epic Games and Apple was Tim Cook. He stayed in the courtroom for at least two hours, the last minutes of which he had to spend in a tense debate with the judge. Among other things, she was interested in why iOS users cannot buy in-game items outside the App Store.

The confrontation between Apple and Microsoft is gaining momentum. The other day, a company from Cupertino accused Microsoft of taking advantage of the situation around its trial with Epic Games and using Fortnite authors as a “screen.”

Such data was shared by Michael Schmid, head of the gaming business development department in the App Store. He declined to give the exact amount, saying it would be “inappropriate.”

Apple actively helped with the promotion of Fortnite in the App Store, said Michael Schmid, head of the gaming business development department at the App Store. It is not known how much the company has spent on marketing the title for the entire time of its existence, but from October 2019 to August 2020, it invested $ 1 million. Lauren Moskowitz, a lawyer at Epic Games, described it as a “bargain.”

Apple‘s lawyers have asked the court to dismiss one of the ten main points in the Epic Games lawsuit. In it, the authors of Fortnite claim that the promotion of the game on iOS is necessary for effective business development.

During the meeting, Craig Federighi said that there are “unacceptably many” malware on Mac computers. This is due to the openness of their operating system — Mac users can download applications not only from the App Store.

The trial between Epic Games and Apple sheds light on an increasing number of internal details of the companies. During it, expert witness Lorin Hitt shared that 62% of all App Store revenue comes from purchases in games.

During the court proceedings, Phil Schiller, former vice president of marketing at Apple, spoke about the launch of the App Store. He recalled that the first iPhone was released in 2007 and initially only Apple‘s own applications worked on it (the rest could be opened through the Safari browser). However, due to numerous attempts by developers to hack a smartphone, the company decided to tighten control and launch an official store in 2008.

In 2019, $400 billion worth of physical goods were sold through the App Store. By them, Apple means buying things on Amazon, food delivery, taxi, etc. Despite the impressive turnover of funds, the company claims that it does not charge a commission on such transactions. According to her, unlike digital purchases or subscriptions, here she cannot guarantee either the quality or whether the consumer will receive his order at all.

The Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) costs Apple an average of $50 million. This was stated during the trial by Phil Schiller. He also noted that the costs of its implementation are not taken into account in the category of operating expenses of the App Store.

Apple continues to make arguments why services such as xCloud should not appear in the App Store. Now she stressed that gaming streaming services are fickle, which cannot be said about video platforms like Netflix. The games in them are like separate applications, interactive and constantly changing. Despite the fact that Netflix also has interactive content. For example, the movie “Black Mirror: Bandashmyg”.

Lorin Hitt from the Wharton School of Business tried to prove that the browser can circumvent the ban on billing in the App Store. He stated that for at least eight games from the list of the top 25 projects at the box office in the store, you can buy content outside of iOS.

Apple prohibits developers from not only implementing their own payment systems, but also generally telling users about discounts outside of iOS. For example, they cannot be sent emails with an offer to buy a subscription or game currency on the game’s website cheaper than in the App Store. Also, you cannot specify similar information in the application itself.

Two weeks ago, Apple released the iOS 14.5 update, which required applications to ask users for permission to collect personal data. This feature has already been appreciated by many owners of iOS devices. As Flurry analysts found out, today only 15% of users from all over the world were not against the collection of their personal information.

Tristan Kosmynka, one of the heads of the App Store, said that in 2017-2018, developers of 5 million applications applied for publication in the store. Approximately 40% of them were unable to pass moderation due to a violation of Apple‘s privacy policy. For example, in 2019, out of 4.8 million applications, slightly more than 1.7 million (36%) were refused publication.

Less than a month ago, an application appeared in the Epic Games Store Itch.io — stora for indie games without DRM. As Apple noted, the standards of this site are very different from the standards of the Epic Games Store. In particular in Itch.io there is a Sisterly Lust game that includes “a list of fetishes with words that should not be uttered in federal court.” Although Epic Games itself does not encourage such content.

Apple‘s lawyers asked the court to invalidate the testimony of Lori Wright, vice president of Xbox. She appeared in court as a witness on the part of Epic Games and, among other things, said that Microsoft does not receive any profit from the sale of consoles.

One of the fundamental points that Epic Games defends is the permission to use third—party payment systems in the App Store. According to the company, this will “put an end to Apple‘s monopoly”, and users will receive more convenient and cheaper payment methods inside applications. That’s just such an innovation will affect all iOS applications, not just games like Fortnite.