Epic's Fortnite banned by Apple and Google: Everything you need to know. Cnet. Epic. — Epic’s Fortnite banned by Apple and Google: Everything you need to know. Cnet. Epic.

Platform Powerplay – Epic vs Apple. Industry First or Deja Vu?

Unless you have been living under a rock, the all-out war between Epic Games and Apple (and Google) IS the talk of the industry. And its flagship, you ask? Fortnite was said to have made $1.8 billion in 2019. Additionally boasting over 350 million players. 250 million players from the Apple App Store alone.

Epic Games’s “Nineteen Eighty Fortnite” campaign is, quite simply…. clever. Extremely controversial. Nevertheless very clever and bold. Boldly mocking Apple. And daringly appropriating Apple’s famous 1984 commercial during the Super Bowl. Yes, those many many moons ago. When Apple was the metaphorical underdog. And IBM was the Big Blue, the Behemoth, the old and stodgy. In short, Big Brother.

#FreeFortnite Apple bans Fortnite from the Apple App Store

That being said, who doesn’t love a Biblical David versus Goliath story? By offering its players the option to buy in-app purchases on the Epic Store, Epic Games got its flagship Fornite disinvited from the Apple App Store party. And from Google. But is Apple unjustified in enforcing its developer terms and conditions?

A greater question is, is Epic Games really the innocent and bullied David of a developer?

If you ask EA, or Tencent, or Riot? Far from it. A developer-publisher does not build a $1.8 billion a year franchise (make that battle royale empire) by thinking or acting small. Nor by playing by the rules all the time. If Apple “Frees” Fortnite, then why not FreePUBG? And FreeBumble? If the New York Times gets an affiliate revenue cut for every single book sold from its New York Times bestsellers list, then is this that different?

At launch, Fortnite for Android was available exclusively on the Epic website.

When it comes to video game publishing, certain decisions are not ever taken lightly. Take for example, the platform(s) on which a game launches. What about exclusivity on the Apple App Store? Or Google Play? And what about Nintendo Switch for that matter? Or available on all platforms, all at the same time? For a period of time? Or for perpetuity? You get the idea.

At launch, Fortnite for Android was available exclusively on the Epic website. And purchases made in-app on Android? FREE from the standard 30% revenue share, uniformly extracted by Google and Apple from every other developer on their platform.

All This Hoopla over a $2 Price Differential? What!?

That’s right, you read that correctly. A measly $2 difference! Trivial? Not to the players. Pocket change? Not when you run the math. Epic Games created a mechanism for its players on Apple and Google to buy Fortnite’s V-Bucks directly on the Epic store. Instead of paying $9.99 inside the App Store or Google Play Store, Epic is being very very deliberate and smart. Rather its players are monetarily encouraged to pay $7.99 on the Epic Store.

So Epic gets its players to buy virtual currency from Epic directly for $2 less than the same bundle on the App Store? But why? Because this trains players to buy in-app purchases from Epic directly. For every 1000 V-buck bundle sold, Epic nets $7.99. Rather than having gamers buy as an in-app purchase directly inside the Apple or Google Fortnite app. In which case, Epic would have netted $9.99 less 30%, which nets out to just under $7 per bundle.

To anyone who thinks a $2 discount is not significant, think again. If this creates precisely the monetization and purchase behavior Epic wants, what gives? It doesn’t take years of consumer insights or market research, on video game pricing to predict the revenue mix by sales channel, fast-forward 4 weeks. Who stands to lose? Simply Apple. And Google.

Thirty percent of $1.8 billion is a lot of money. $540 million to be exact – paid to Apple and Google, last year.

FreeFortnite! FreeFortnite! Shots fired. Missiles launched. War declared. But CAN Epic win the war against Apple and Google? If Fortnite’s banning on the App Store and Google Play Store is any indication, most likely NO.

Was this fallout between a powerful video game developer and the publishing platform, an industry first?

But let us rewind the clock ten years. The year was 2010. Another high-flying video game developer and publisher. Different platform.

On the brink of filing for IPO, Zynga did the unthinkable. Zynga launched its own social network to compete against Facebook. The motivation? You guessed it. To protest Facebook’s anti-competitive practices. And to resist the Facebook policy of charging developers an ungodly sum of 30 %, to market and publish on the Facebook platform.

What’s at stake? In the case of Zynga in 2010? Zynga had a $597 million year in 2010, net of platform fees and revenue share. Assuming this was $597 million after giving Facebook a 30% cut, Zynga COULD have had a $853 million year! Clearly a $250 million sum is worth going to war over for Zynga in 2010.

Fallout from Facebook’s new policies banning auto-notifications and negotiating for better revenue share, Zynga launched its own website and game discovery platform.

And what about Facebook? Just testing its Facebook Credits, a universal currency across all of Facebook’s 500 thousand+ developers. The revenue share? You guessed it. Thirty percent.

When Facebook changed its developer policy and banned Facebook developers from auto-posting on user newsfeeds, who cared? For one, consumers cared. Who in their right mind, liked seeing their newsfeeds stuffed with meaningless “help a friend on FarmVille” requests?

From Zynga’s angle? This one obscure change hindered Zynga’s viral marketing. Think of it as limiting Zynga player’s user-generated content. Except the content was really developer-auto generated. Check out the following video, amongst 1000s, that cropped up. To address one need. Quite simply, to turn off auto newsfeed postings. All the joys of social media marketing 1.0.

User Video teaching others to turn off Facebook newsfeed auto postings

Facebook was responding to user feedback, and defending its share of revenue from all Facebook developers.

Wait, so Facebook was addressing the experience of real users? Yes. Shouldn’t Facebook get compensated for helping Zynga acquire hundreds of millions of players? And in so doing, making Zynga very cash-rich and IPO darling in 2010? Seems reasonable.

Since Zynga derived a majority of its revenue on the Facebook platform in 2010, it benefited from the discoverability afforded by the platform.

$540 million is worth going to war over for Epic in 2020. As $250 million was worth going to war over for Zynga in 2010.

Fast forward to 2020. By the same token, it was estimated Epic got over 250 million downloads from the Apple App Store alone. To those of us coming from mobile marketing, we appreciate the media value of those users ranged in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The many millions of users Epic acquired on the App Store weren’t free. So should Epic be granted FreeFortnite? Or abide by Apple and Google’s developer policies? You know, like every other policy-compliant game and app developer?

FreeFortnite? Does that also mean FreeSupercell? Or FreeTinder? So SHOULD Epic Games pay a princely sum for the discoverability of its app, without which arguably Epic would not have had a $4 billion+ franchise on its hands.

In case you are wondering, Zynga and Facebook made up. Zynga agreed to an undisclosed set of terms of payment and revenue share from Facebook. Guess it’s only fair.

What does that mean for Epic and Apple and Google? Only time can tell. But platforms serve a distinct purpose. And derive a lot of power. And Yes. Apple explicitly stated. No links or side-stepping in-app purchases. Nobody forced Epic to publish on iOS. Since it chose to, Epic explicitly agreed to the iOS developer’s business terms. Building a link for players to make in-app purchases on the Epic Store? A legal breach.

Platform powerplay. Deja Vu. Well played. But nice try, FreeFortnite.

Top 5 Battle Royale Titles of 2020

Battle Royale games like Fortnite, PUBG and Apex Legends might have been at the top for a very long time. However, many new battle royale games are getting attention in 2020.

Waiting in the wing are many unique and amazing games which are giving us their own takes on the genre.

Few of these games have already been released. Others are still in development. Today, we will take a closer look at the best battle royale games of 2020.

Now, without any further delay, let’s get started!

Spellbreak

First up, Spellbreak is going to be one of the biggest Battle Royale games of 2020. The game is being developed by Proletariat. And man, fans all over the world are HYPED up. Not surprisingly, Spellbreak is bringing something completely new to the table. It’s going to be completely different from other battle royales like Fortnite and PUBG. You’ll have to cast different kinds of spells to get the upper-hand on your enemies.

In terms of perspectives? Spellbreak is in the third-person. Its gameplay, you ask? Quite positively diverse. You’ll have to craft certain builds and use different combinations of spells in battle. The game’s artstyle is very vibrant. Naturally its cartoonish graphics fit perfectly with the setting of this game. You can jump in a new game solo… Or try to survive in the hollow lands with your friends.

Long-awaited, this title is going to get released for Windows, PlayStation, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. In my opinion, this game is a 4 out of a 5 and I am very excited to play it.

Blazing Sails

Drumroll please… Another upcoming battle royale game, Blazing Sails is going to be huge in 2020. Published by Iceberg Interactive and developed by GET UP GAMES, Blazing Sails is going to be a massively multiplayer online game. The objective? You and your friends have to protect a single pirate ship.

Players will create their own pirate avatar and build their own ship to become a part of the battle. The core loop? You will have to navigate through the lands and seas to collect amazing loot, resources and weapons. As you survive at sea, your ship will be upgraded. Once it gets damaged in battle, you will have to fix your ship. Like the other games on this shortlist, Blazing Sails is going to have very vibrant and cartoonish graphics.

Blazing Sails is going to be available exclusively for Microsoft Windows. But what about CONSOLE players? Unfortunately, console players won’t be able to get a taste of the deadly ocean yet.

I would personally give this game a 4 out of a 5. Because it looks extremely intriguing, I am excited to try it out.

Valhall

What about fans of medieval warfare? Bar none, Valhall is going to be the most REALISTIC battle royale game of 2020. In this game, you will experience the true brutality of the Viking era. Valhall is being developed and published by Blackrose Arts, and gamers all over the world are hyped for this release.

As for the gameplay of Valhall? Extremely complex. With minimal HUD on the screen, the player will get to switch between first-person and third-person perspective. While I am certain this hybrid perspective has been tested with players via consumer insights and playtesting, only time will tell if players like or love this. Or not.

Playing as a Viking, you will have different weapons at your disposal. These include an axe and a long-bow. However, the long-bow will NOT have a crosshair. Why does that matter? Well, newer players are going to have a very hard time and be challenged by a steeper learning curve. Developers at Blackrose Arts have tried to make this game as realistic as possible.

The trailer suggests you will be able to play with your friends. This multiplayer co-op in the battle royale genre is going to take you for an INSANE rollercoaster ride. If you wonder about the graphics of this game, not to worry. They perfectly complement its breathtaking gameplay elements. With lifelike graphics, there will never be a dull moment in Valhall.

Currently it’s being developed exclusively for Windows. For console players, I suspect a PlayStation and Xbox port might get released in the near future.

I am quite excited to try this title out and would give this a 5 out of 5.

Hyper Scape

To much fanfare, Hyper Scape is the new big battle royale game by Ubisoft. Released recently on July 12th 2020, the game is slowly gaining a lot of attention.

Hyper Scape is extremely fast-paced and does not go easy on new players. Set in the first-person perspective, it has amazing parkour elements. Players can jump from wall to wall and slide to go faster. Because of its fast-paced gameplay, you need an exceptionally good aim to dominate.

Hyper Scape has Fortnite-like graphics, but the gameplay is completely different. For the battle royale fans who like fast action, this game is going to be a very exciting play.

Hyper Scape is currently in beta and is only available on Microsoft Windows. Xbox and PlayStation versions of this game are being worked on as we speak. Let’s just hope that the game also comes with cross-play.

If you ask me, I liked the game. But, I think that the movement needs to be a little swifter, as aiming is too hard in this game. I would give it 3.5 out of 5.

Call of Duty Warzone

Last but definitely not least, let’s talk about one of the most popular games of 2020. Call of Duty Warzone is Call of Duty’s take on the battle royale genre. Not surprisingly it has managed to get a lot of attention. It will remind some of you of PUBG. But this game experience is completely different

While an extension of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, to play this game does NOT require the purchase of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Call of Duty Warzone has extremely realistic graphics, and the gameplay is very intense. There are tons of weapons to choose from. And perfecting aim takes a lot of practice. 150 players take part in every match of Warzone. You’ll be glad to know, dying doesn’t kick you out of the match. Instead you are given a second chance in the Gulag.

Call of Duty Warzone is available on PlayStation, Xbox and Windows. Personally, I loved this game, but it can be a little harsh for newer players. I’d give it a 4 out a 5.