Epic Games CEO knew Fortnite in-app payment change breached Apple deal
Tim Sweeney has told an Australian court he was aware that updating the games' in-app payment methods was "deceitful" and that it was aimed at avoiding Apple's 30% commission.
Epic Games' chief executive officer has admitted his company knew it was breaching agreements with Apple when it deployed its own in-app payment system for its Fortnite game in 2020.
Tim Sweeney was the first witness to be called to give evidence in his company's legal battles with Apple and Google, facing questions today from the iPhone maker in the Federal Court in Melbourne.
The Epic CEO agreed in response to questions from Apple barrister Matthew Darke SC that he'd understood at the time that his company's decision was "deceitful" and included "multiple breaches" of Epic's developer agreement with Apple.
"We knew we were breaching agreements when we activated the hotfix," Sweeney told the courtroom, as hearings in the case entered their third week.
