Apple has taken another step in its ongoing feud with Epic Games, terminating the developer's account on the App Store and removing all of its games. This also revokes Epic Games' access to Apple's development tools.
The company had threatened to take this action if Epic failed to adhere to the App Store guidelines, a move Epic said could "cripple the Unreal Engine." Following a lawsuit filed by Epic seeking a preliminary injunction, Apple has now followed through with its threat.
"We are disappointed that we have had to terminate the Epic Games account on the App Store," Apple said in a statement (via MacRumors). "We have worked with the team at Epic Games for many years on their launches and releases. The court recommended that Epic comply with the App Store guidelines while their case moves forward, guidelines they've followed for the past decade until they created this situation.
"Epic has refused. Instead they repeatedly submit Fortnite updates designed to violate the guidelines of the App Store. This is not fair to all other developers on the App Store and is putting customers in the middle of their fight. We hope that we can work together again in the future, but unfortunately that is not possible today."
Epic, for its part, has launched a less formal campaign in their ongoing feud with Apple, releasing "Free Fortnite" merchandise and even creating a parody video criticizing the tech giant.
