Some users take advantage of the fact that since last week the app cannot be downloaded to sell second-hand phones that already have it downloaded.
Last Thursday Apple withdrew the Fortnite video game from its application store due to the conflict between Epic Games, the developer, and the apple company. Players who did not have it installed on their devices prior to that date can no longer download it. As a consequence, portals such as eBay are filling with advertisements offering a second-hand iPhone with the game available . These are users who were able to install it before it disappeared from the App Store and who have now seen a business opportunity selling it at exorbitant prices.
Most are not even the latest iPhone – these are older versions that sell for gold just because they include the video game. Portals such as Business Insider report that some of these ads have prices of up to $ 10,000. Among the dozens of ads that can be found published in the last hours on eBay Spain, the most expensive reaches 6,000 euros.

Fortnite was also removed from the Google app store, but players using Android have other ways to get the game without having to download it from the store or buy standard phones. You can get it on the Epic Games website, for example. However, players using Apple, which has a much more closed ecosystem, could get it only and exclusively by downloading it from the App Store, from where it has disappeared .

Still, buying these phones to play games does not solve the problem. By removing it from the App Store, Apple also prevents downloading new versions of the game and has even threatened Epic Games with the possibility of making it stop working permanently even if it is installed on devices.

Epic vs Apple

Last week, the Fortnite video game, one of the most popular in the world, rolled out an update for Apple and Android phones that allowed players to bypass the usual payment systems of companies. The developer, Epic Games, gave players the option to pay for the purchases they made within the games directly to the owners of the game and save the 30% commission that they usually pay to Apple and Google. In response, the two tech companies removed the game from their app stores, citing the update as a violation of the terms of service.

Epic Games sued both companies shortly thereafter for what it alleges “is monopolistic behavior,” a crusade that the developer has especially waged against Apple. In response, the apple company has threatened Fortnite owners to remove their developer license if they do not reuse the traditional payment method they had agreed to, which could make Apple users no longer able to continue playing games. Fortnite or download or use any other Epic Games app.