Epic taunts Apple with a banana as Tim Sweeney decries new iOS rules in the EU as 'hot garbage'

Epic has launched a Fortnite tease that is tweaking Apple's nose about new rules set to come into force in the EU. The brief clip shows Peely, the Fortnite banana mascot, floating backwards into the void while making the «I'm watching you» gesture with two fingers. It adds a shoutout to the EU's new Digital Markets Act (DMA) and adds «Apple, the world is watching.»

This is the latest stage in a global faceoff between Apple and Epic as the Fortnite developer (and platform holder) battles to open up the walled garden that is iOS. Epic's attempts in the US mainly ended in failure, but in the EU it's a different story and the DMA means Apple must allow customers to access thirdparty app stores and payment methods. The DMA is not just about Apple but all large tech companies that act as gatekeepers to online services, and aims to make it easier for companies to compete on large storefronts without having to jump through hoops that solely benefit the platform-holder. 

Epic has used Fortnite symbolically throughout this fight, withdrawing it from the App Store in 2020 (with an advert parodying Apple's classic 1984 commercial). In its various actions Epic has argued that Apple operates an anti-competitive monopoly that gives developers and players no choice but to go through iOS and cough up 30% commission. 

For its part, Apple has announced how it intends to comply with the provisions of the DMA and the chutzpah is kind of amazing: among other things it is demanding install fees above a certain number of users, and that developers wishing to use their own payment services provide a stonking proof of credit. Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games and a man never shy of sharing his opinions, is positively fulminating at what looks like a bad faith attempt to skirt the EU's demands.

«Apple's plan to thwart Europe's new Digital Markets Act law is a devious new instance of Malicious Compliance,» thunders Sweeney. «They are forcing developers to choose between App Store exclusivity and