Microsoft ilmoitti olevansa Epic Gamesin puolella Applea vastaan

Tällä hetkellä menossa on kova kädenvääntö Applen ja Epic Gamesin kesken, ja kyse on tietenkin rahasta. Tappelua käydään niin oikeudessa kuin julkisesti vastapuolta nöyryyttäen. Microsoft on ottanut tilanteeseen kantaa asettuen Epic Gamesin puolelle.

Microsoftin General Manager for Gaming Developer Experiences Kevin Gammillin mukaan Applen pitäisi nyt harkita strategiaansa uudelleen, koska nykyinen linja on vahingollinen niin pelinkehittäjille kuin pelaajille.

"For game creators in the later stages of development utilizing Unreal Engine and targeting the iOS and/or macOS platform, Unreal Engine's sudden loss of support for iOS and macOS would create significant costs and difficult decisions. The creator would have significant sunk costs and lost time using Unreal Engine for game creation, and would have to choose between (a) starting development all over with a new game engine, (b) abandoning the iOS and macOS platforms, or (c) ceasing development entirely."

"Apple's removal of Unreal Engine's ability to develop updates and improvements for iOS and macOS could also harm already-launched iOS and macOS games built on Unreal Engine. If the game engine can no longer develop updates that take advantage of new iOS or macOS features, fix software bugs, or patch security flaws, this will harm games that have already launched on iOS and macOS (and, in turn, harm gamers). In addition, this situation could bifurcate a game's player base, such that gamers on iOS or macOS cannot play or communicate with friends or family who are playing on other platforms."

Lisäksi Xbox-pomo Phil Spencer ilmaisi yksityisen tukensa Epic Gamesille Twitterissä.