Microsoft sides with Epic against Apple

Senior execs at MS have come out in support of Epic, suggesting that it's gamers who will miss out if Apple continues on its current course.

As you might know, there's trouble brewing between Epic and Apple right now. The two companies are fighting in court, openly humiliating each other, and serious measures are being taken as the companies position themselves for whatever happens next. Now Microsoft has shared their opinions on the matter, and it seems as though Team Xbox is siding with Epic.

In a lengthy statement released yesterday, Microsoft's General Manager for Gaming Developer Experiences, Kevin Gammill, explains why they think Apple should reconsider and how it hurts both game creators and gamers. Amongst other things, he writes:

"For game creators in the later stages of development utilising 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."

Gammill also claims this will have a negative effect on games already released and says it might hurt regular gamers in the end:

"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."

The Xbox boss Phil Spencer also added his personal support for Epic on Twitter, adding that, "ensuring Epic has access to the latest Apple technology is the right thing for gamer developers & gamers".

What do you think about all this?