Technology - Google News

Epic’s latest legal filing targets Apple’s intent to cut off Unreal Engine, Microsoft joins in support - 9to5Mac
Galaxy S21 may get S Pen as Samsung said to ditch Galaxy Note series - SamMobile
Spotify is launching an exclusive League of Legends esports podcast - The Verge

Epic’s latest legal filing targets Apple’s intent to cut off Unreal Engine, Microsoft joins in support - 9to5Mac

Posted: 24 Aug 2020 02:40 AM PDT

Epic's latest filing in the battle against the App Store targets Apple's declaration that it will follow policy and terminate Epic's developer accounts on August 28th. As noted by The Verge, Epic argues several reasons why Apple should not do this, noting the wide-reaching consequences it has on the games ecosystem that depend on the Unreal Engine frameworks.

Microsoft has submitted a companion filing that lays out the impact to its business of the Unreal Engine. The statement says that "Apple's discontinuation of Epic's ability to develop and support Unreal Engine for iOS or macOS will harm game creators and gamers".

This all started when Epic added a direct payments feature to Fortnite which blatantly violated Apple's rules. In response, Apple quickly removed the game from the App Store. Epic also submitted a lawsuit alleging Apple's App Store rules are monopolistic and unfair, which Apple is naturally contesting.

Whilst the game is now unlisted, Fortnite still remains installed on millions of devices, with the direct payments feature active. Apple says this ongoing violation of its policies cannot continue and has notified Epic that it will terminate its developer account on August 28, as per the rules of being an Apple registered developer.

Assuming that happens later this week, Epic will no longer be able to update Fortnite with new content and it will no longer be able to maintain and update the Unreal Engine on Apple's platforms. That has wide-reaching consequences on the entire game industry. Apple says that Epic is free to argue its lawsuit over App Store terms in court, and its developer account can be restored as soon as the direct payments feature is removed.

Epic's filing on Sunday addresses the Unreal Engine specifically, and it wants an injunction to stop Apple from going ahead. One of Epic's arguments is that Epic breached only one of Apple's agreements, and it does not apply to the agreement that covers Epic's use of Apple developer tools to create the Unreal Engine.

Epic also says that it has six separate developer accounts. It claims that the accounts managing Fortnite and Unreal Engine are wholly separate, and Apple should only be allowed to terminate the Fortnite account, leaving Unreal untouched. Apple says that Epic treats these accounts "as if they are one". It also leans on the 'wider harm' argument, like what is demonstrated in the associated Microsoft filing.

Whether Epic can get an injunction imposed this week remains unclear. A hearing is currently scheduled for later today on whether Apple will be required to restore Fortnite to the App Store.

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Galaxy S21 may get S Pen as Samsung said to ditch Galaxy Note series - SamMobile

Posted: 24 Aug 2020 04:13 AM PDT

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Spotify is launching an exclusive League of Legends esports podcast - The Verge

Posted: 24 Aug 2020 03:00 AM PDT

Spotify keeps adding to its exclusive podcast arsenal, and today, it's getting into the esports space. The company announced a multiyear partnership with Riot Games that'll make Spotify the hub for all League of Legends audio content, including exclusive podcast series.

At least one show will launch this year, called Untold Stories: Top Moments from Worlds, a nine-episode series that'll lead up to the 10th League of Legends championship this fall. Listeners will hear about the players and top anthem through game highlights, interviews, and game sound effects.

Two music playlists, including the existing, "This is League of Legends," will be updated regularly, too. Spotify's also planning to dedicate a day to the Worlds Anthem, a song Riot releases every year to kick off its annual championship competition, to give listeners a behind-the-scenes look at how the music was made.

The partnership might seem somewhat unlikely, but it makes sense given how popular League of Legends' music appears to be. The game's YouTube channel has a playlist dedicated to music videos from the game, and more than 21 million people have watched. The game is also an official user on Spotify with its top track counting more than 154 million listens. Spotify clearly sees an opportunity here to beef up its marketing and lure gamers onto the platform. Once they're there, it can start marketing other audio content, possibly other game-related podcasts, and eventually encourage them to make Spotify their go-to music and audio player.

An esports podcast is also an intriguing idea, especially given that it's a Spotify-exclusive. League of Legends is one of the most popular esports, if not the most popular. More than 100 million people watched the world championship last year. Getting even a small percentage of these viewers to tune into a podcast would generate enough listeners for Spotify to easily monetize the show.

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