It’s been a while since a big company defended Apple’s App Store regarding the Epic antitrust case. Last year, Snap’s CEO said that he was happy to pay App Store taxes “in exchange for all of the amazing technology that they provide to us,” and now Roblox has stated that Apple’s App Store enhances “safety and security” to its users.
As reported by Reuters, Roblox is supporting Apple’s bid to beat an appeal by Epic in its key US antitrust case. As you may recall, the Fortnite maker lost a trial last year about whether Apple had anti-competitive payment rules and fees.
Roblox stated in a legal filing on Thursday:
Roblox played a big part in the Epic vs. Apple antitrust case as to whether it offered games or “experiences,” as an Apple senior director described it.
Apple’s process for review and approval of apps available on the App Store enhances safety and security, and provides those apps greater legitimacy in the eyes of users.
Here’s some context from the second week of the Epic vs. Apple trial last year:
At that time, a Roblox spokesperson stated that “the term ‘experiences’ is consistent with how we’ve evolved our terminology to reflect our realization of the metaverse.”
What could sound like a joke, was in fact a serious question in the Epic Games vs. Apple trial. In a 2017 email, Apple marketing head Trystan Kosmynka said he was “surprised” that “Roboblox” had been approved for the App Store. Epic Games decided to bring the decision up again in court to try to cast doubt on Apple’s App Store review process.
(…) After being put in the middle of the trial, Roblox developers changed, possibly in response to the court case, everywhere it was named “game” in its website to “experience.” For example, the “Games” tab now reads “Discover” on its iOS and Android apps.
The appeal hearing about this App Store antitrust case is expected next year.
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