Fortnite game maker steps up action against Apple over App Store    

The first-ever Fortnite World Cup which took place in 2019. Fortnite maker Epic Games has filed a complaint with Britain's competition regulator in support of its investigation into Apple's anti-competitive behaviour.

Fortnite computer game maker Epic said it had filed a complaint with Britain's competition regulator in support of its investigation into Apple's anti-competitive behaviour.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority said this month it had opened an investigation into Apple after complaints that the iPhone maker's terms and conditions for app developers were unfair.

Payment policies related to Apple's App Store have long drawn complaints from app developers and Epic and Apple have engaged in multiple lawsuits across the world. 

Apple barred Epic's Fortnite from the App Store after the game maker tried to avoid Apple's 30% fee on some in-app purchases. 

'Stifle innovation'

Epic Games founder and chief executive Tim Sweeney, a vocal critic of Apple's policies, said its "practices lead to artificially inflated costs for consumers, and stifle innovation among developers".

"It is not surprising that Epic is pushing their agenda before the UK Competition and Markets Authority, as we have seen them use the same playbook around the world," said an Apple spokesman.

Meanwhile, major Apple supplier Foxconn has posted a lower fourth-quarter profit that lagged expectations as the pandemic hit margins and warned of the impact of "materials shortages" amid tight global chip supplies.

The Taiwanese firm, the world's largest contract electronics maker, booked an October-December net profit that was 4% down from a year earlier. 

It said the company's gross margin was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic but strong smartphone sales still contributed to stronger than expected performance. 

Chairman Liu Young-way said the company is closely monitoring "materials shortages" in the consumer electronics supply chain and that could hit less than 10% of client orders.

Industry sources have said a chip shortage that first hit the car industry is now spreading across the electronics business, including smartphones.

The company has in recent months announced plans to become a major player in the global electric vehicle market.

Shares of Foxconn have climbed almost 41% this year. 

• Reuters