The Leadership Letter

Real correspondence from the people running real companies — and what it reveals about leadership.

How to Frame a Demand as a Favor to Customers

When you can't beat a gatekeeper on their terms, reframe the fight as being about their customers, not you.

Because of restrictions imposed by Apple, Epic is unable to provide consumers with certain features in our iOS apps. We would like to offer consumers the following features: 1) Competing payment processing options other than Apple payments, without Apple's fees, in Fortnite and other Epic Games software distributed through the iOS App Store; 2) A competing Epic Games Store app available through the iOS App Store and through direct installation that has equal access to underlying operating system features for software installation and update as the iOS App Store itself has.

If Epic were allowed to provide these options to iOS device users, consumers would have an opportunity to pay less for digital products and developers would earn more from their sales. Epic is requesting that Apple agree in principle to permit Epic to roll out these options for the benefit of all iOS customers. We hope that Apple will also make these options equally available to all iOS developers in order to make software sales and distribution on the iOS platform as open and competitive as it is on personal computers.

Please confirm within two weeks if Apple agrees in principle to allow Epic to provide a competing app store and competing payment processing, in which case we will meet with your team to work out the details including Epic's firm commitment to utilize any such features diligently to protect device security, customer privacy, and a high-quality user experience.

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Court Exhibit
Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple Inc.
4:20-cv-05640 (CAND), Doc. 74-4, filed 2020-09-15
June 30, 2020
Public domain
View the primary source →