The day Epic Games beat Apple with… Candy Crush

The trial is opposing Epic Games à Apple It’s still running in the US. After disclosing many of the litigants and even collateral damage in other companies, such as SonyThe case still offers us moments from the anthology. This is how, like a relay the edgeExample, the popular mobile game Candy Crush ended up in court to terminate Apple.

That’s how Candy Crush ended up in court

On that day, it was all about deciding on user experience, and in particular how Apple’s rules with its app store could affect it. The conflict between Epic Games and Apple is precisely that question, after the Fortnite publisher slingshot who brought the title to be chased from the shelves of the App Store.

Therefore, both parties had to send experts to the court to defend each other’s views. On Apple’s part, Lauren Hitt, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton, made an argument that having an address on the app store was not a problem for the user. He explains that running it on his internet browser or via an application has not changed much to the ultimate experience, since the games are generally designed for both PC and smartphone, and the computer version can generally be accessed from the browser. Then the expert provided a list of ambiguous addresses that could be triggered by these two methods.

Obviously, it was too easy for Epic Games attorney Yonathan Even, who saw it as an opportunity to demolish Apple’s business case. First of all, he made it clear that the list of games that Apple had presented as being in development for both PC and smartphone was not correct, thus gaining the association’s trust.

Next, he addressed the argument of an expert sent by Apple who made it clear that user experience is no different between browser and app. Thus, he was able to view his iPhone’s screen in court, and open his internet browser. Then it goes to the official Candy Crush website, then clicks on «Fixer». Apparently, the app store opens and offers to download the app. So he returns to his browser, and, to his surprise: It’s absolutely impossible to run the title without going through the App Store. “I imagine it’s part of your vision for a friction-free user journey.” Deduces against an Apple expert.

And this is how Candy Crush ended up on court screens. The relationship between Epic Games and Apple is full of surprises for sure.