Fortnite

Walmart’s unannounced cloud gaming service detailed in confidential Epic emails

Walmart’s unannounced cloud gaming service, codenamed Project Storm, has been detailed in new confidential emails. An exhibit in the Epic Games v. Apple trial reveals Walmart’s efforts to pitch its cloud gaming service to Epic Games and get Fortnite on board. “I played Walmart’s demo on an Android phone (with an Xbox controller) and the… Read more

Apple exec suggested cutting App Store commission to 20 percent as early as 2011

Phil Schiller, the Apple executive in charge of the App Store, raised the possibility of the company cutting its 30 percent commission rate to 25 or even 20 percent back in 2011 in response to competition. Schiller floated the idea in an email to then Apple CEO Steve Jobs and head of Apple services Eddy… Read more

Here are Apple’s and Epic’s full slideshows arguing why they should win at trial

Both Apple and Epic have released their opening presentations on why they feel they should win this week’s trial, which is set to determine the future of the App Store. In the documents, which you can look through below, each company lays out its case. The lawsuit started when Apple removed Epic Games’ Fortnite from… Read more

Fortnite made more than $9 billion in revenue in its first two years

After a meteoric rise to popularity in 2018, Fortnite generated more than $5 billion in its first year for Epic Games, new financial documents reveal. The document, made public as part of Epic’s court battle with Apple over the latter’s App Store practices, shows that the game brought in more than $9 billion total for… Read more

Fortnite is planning skins for LeBron James and The Rock, documents show

An internal presentation at Epic Games showed ambitious promotional plans for the game, including a basketball mini-game and a planned “Party Royale” featuring Zion Williamson and LeBron James. Made public as part of the ongoing Epic v. Apple trial, the document comes from a quarterly business review performed in June 2020. In addition to detailing… Read more

The Epic Games v. Apple trial kicks off with kids screaming ‘free Fortnite’

The Epic Games v. Apple trial is starting today, and it has begun with a court conference call full of kids screaming for Fortnite to return to mobile. The public call line allows anyone to dial in and listen to today’s proceedings, but the court didn’t manage to properly mute all participants for more than… Read more

Why Epic is burning its own cash to cook Apple

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Epic Games didn’t sue Apple to get a big payout, but that’s because the lawsuit itself is an investment. And to rewrite Apple’s rules, Epic is spending a fortune. The reason Epic’s Fortnite got thrown out of the Apple App Store was that Epic rogue-updated Fortnite to offer… Read more

Epic-backed expert says Apple’s app store profit is as high as 78 percent

An expert witness for Epic Games testified that Apple’s App Store had operating margins above 70 percent in fiscal years 2018 and 2019, new court documents show. Eric Barnes testified that information from Apple’s Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis group show the App Store had a 77.8 percent operating margin in 2019, and 74.9 percent… Read more

Fortnite is not on Xbox Cloud Gaming due to competition with Epic PC offerings

Home / Software & Gaming / Fortnite is not on Xbox Cloud Gaming due to competition with Epic PC offerings Matthew Wilson 16 hours ago Software & Gaming With the Epic Games V Apple trial set to get underway in just a matter of days, court documents are starting to reveal some interesting facts about… Read more

Epic Games v. Apple: the fight for the future of the App Store

All the news about the huge trial Contributors: Verge Staff After months of preparation, Epic Games will finally take on Apple in court in a trial that could fundamentally change the makeup of the App Store. The fight dates back to August, when Epic added a direct payment mechanism to its hit battle royale game… Read more

Returnal is dark, challenging, and the perfect PS5 showcase

We’re nearly six months into the life of the current generation of game consoles, but there are still vanishingly few high-profile exclusives that show off what the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X can do. After getting through the initial wave of launch titles, I’ve spent most of 2021 using my PS5 to play Fortnite…. Read more

AMD vs Nvidia: Which GPUs Are Best for Ray Tracing?

Home News (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) The best graphics cards should let you play your favorite games with stunning visual effects, including life-like reflections and shadows. Sure, ray tracing may not radically improve the look of some games, but you should be the one to decide whether or not to enable it. Getting locked out… Read more

Apple’s iPhone 12 and Mac sales skyrocket despite ongoing pandemic

Apple’s iPhone 12 lineup maintained enormously strong demand from consumers from January through March, according to the company’s fiscal Q2 earnings posted today. Apple reported record March quarter revenue of $89.6 billion, up 54 percent year over year. The iPhone took in just under $48 billion, jumping up by 66 percent from a year ago…. Read more

Fortnite’s cash cow is PlayStation, not iOS, court documents reveal

Earlier this month, we learned that the iOS version of Fortnite was a huge revenue driver for Epic Games — the game earned more than $700 million from iOS customers over the two years before it was pulled by Apple, according to court documents (PDF) released ahead of Epic’s trial against the iPhone maker. But… Read more

Fortnite isn’t on Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming service because Epic won’t allow it

Epic Games is holding back Fortnite from being available on Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming (xCloud) service, according to a new deposition made public as part of the Epic case against Apple. The Fortnite developer views Microsoft’s xCloud service as competition to its PC offerings, and the company is deliberately not offering Fortnite on xCloud as… Read more