According to Eurogamer.net, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has declared that Fortnite will not be returning to iOS in Japan in 2025 as previously promised. This decision is a direct response to changes Apple announced this week to comply with Japan’s Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA), which required Apple to open iOS to competing app stores by December 18th. Sweeney alleges that instead of honest compliance, Apple has introduced a 21% fee on third-party in-app payments, a 15% fee for web purchases, and a new 5% fee on all revenue from apps distributed by competing stores. He calls these “junk fees” and part of a “travesty of obstruction and lawbreaking,” stating Epic will raise complaints with the Japanese Fair Trade Commission. This extends a five-year legal feud where Epic claims to have lost around $1 billion in missed revenue.
The fee shell game
Here’s the thing: Apple‘s move is a masterclass in regulatory jiu-jitsu. The law says they have to allow competition, so they do—technically. But then they attach a web of fees and conditions that makes that competition practically unworkable. A 5% fee on all revenue from a competing store? That’s a tax on the store operator for simply existing, on money Apple had no hand in processing. Combine that with the 21% cut on third-party payments (which is only 9 points less than Apple’s own 30%), and the math for anyone trying to run an alternative, like Epic, becomes brutal. It’s not opening a door; it’s opening a door and then installing a toll booth, a security checkpoint, and a mandatory guided tour inside. Sweeney’s point is that this structure, especially the 5% “Core Technology Fee” on rival store revenue, is the very “anticompetitive pricing” US courts have already ruled against.
More than just money
But the friction isn’t just financial. Sweeney also slammed the “anticompetitive warning screens” Apple plans to use. This is a psychological play. If you’ve ever sideloaded an app on Android or installed software outside an official store, you’ve seen the dire warnings. Apple is famously good at UX, and they can design a warning screen that makes a user feel like they’re about to give their life savings to a hacker. The goal? To scare consumers back to the safety of the App Store, where Apple maintains full control and gets its full cut. So even if a developer swallows the new fees, they then have to convince users to click through what Apple frames as a dangerous choice. It’s a huge barrier.
A global pattern
Look, this isn’t just a Japan problem. We’re seeing the same script play out in the EU under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple complies with the letter of the law—allowing alternative app stores and payment methods—but layers on new fees and complexities that critics say nullify the spirit of the law. The core conflict is unchanged: Apple views its iOS ecosystem, the App Store, and its payment system as an integrated, curated service worthy of a commission. Regulators and companies like Epic see it as a monopolistic platform abusing its gatekeeper position. Japan’s MSCA was supposed to be a different path, but Epic’s reaction suggests Apple’s playbook is globally consistent. So what happens next? The ball is now in the court of the Japanese Fair Trade Commission. Will they see these fees as a reasonable cost for using Apple’s intellectual property and platform, or as the “obstruction” Sweeney claims they are?
