Apple’s 30% Cut Is “Exorbitant” and Outdated, Says Sweeney

In a keynote speech delivered at a tech policy forum, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney did not mince words when addressing the standard 30% commission that Apple and Google impose on digital purchases. He argued that this fee structure was designed for an era when app stores provided essential services like discovery, payment processing, and hosting — infrastructure that is now commoditized and inexpensive to replicate. Sweeney pointed out that the actual cost of processing a digital transaction is a small fraction of a percentage point, and that cloud hosting for apps has become radically cheaper over the past decade. Therefore, he claimed, charging a 30% slice for essentially a payment gateway is nothing short of economic exploitation. He further noted that this fee is especially burdensome for indie developers and small studios, who often operate on razor-thin margins. For many, the store commission means the difference between profitability and bankruptcy. Sweeney also highlighted that Apple’s App Store policies force developers to use Apple’s own payment system, prohibiting them from informing users about cheaper alternatives. This lack of choice, he argued, inflates prices for consumers and stifles competitive innovation. Drawing parallels to historical antitrust cases, Sweeney called the commission an artificial tax that has no basis in actual service value. He concluded that unless tech giants voluntarily reform, governments must intervene to formally declare such fee structures anti-competitive.

Epic CEO Urges Regulators to Rein in App Store Monopolies

Sweeney used the speech to directly appeal to antitrust regulators worldwide, insisting that the app store duopoly constitutes an illegal abuse of market power. He noted that Apple and Google collectively control nearly 100% of the mobile app distribution market, giving them a chokehold over how billions of users access software. This dominance, he said, translates into unilateral rule-making: they can change policies at will, reject competing stores, and impose fees without any meaningful negotiation. Sweeney referenced Epic’s ongoing legal battles, including the landmark ruling that found Apple violated California’s unfair competition law, yet he stressed that court victories alone are insufficient. He called for structural remedies, such as forcing Apple to allow alternative app stores on iOS and permitting third-party payment processors. He also praised the European Union’s Digital Markets Act as a model for the rest of the world, noting that its requirements on interoperability and sideloading would directly undermine the exploitative fee system. Sweeney criticized the slow pace of enforcement, saying that every month of delay costs developers billions of dollars in artificially inflated commissions. He urged the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to treat app store terms not as private business decisions but as critical infrastructure regulation. Without such intervention, he warned, the mobile ecosystem will remain a “feudal economy” where platform owners dictate all terms of trade.

Sweeney: Developers Deserve a Direct Payment Option Without Platform Taxes

A central theme of Sweeney’s address was the fundamental right of developers to connect with their customers without an intermediary charging a toll. He proposed what he called a “fair payment principle”: every developer should be allowed to offer direct alternative payment methods, such as web-based checkout or credit card entry, without fear of retaliation. Epic attempted exactly this in Fortnite, which led to its removal from both the Apple App Store and Google Play. Sweeney recounted how Apple retaliated by terminating Epic’s developer account, threatening the future of Unreal Engine — a tool used by millions of developers. He argued that such conduct shows how the store fees are maintained not through user preference but through coercion and threats. In a truly open ecosystem, he argued, store owners could still charge for genuine distribution services, but the fee should be transparent, negotiable, and proportional to actual services rendered. He suggested that a 3% fee, similar to standard credit card processing, would be a reasonable benchmark for payment handling alone. Any additional services like promotion or hosting should be optional and separately priced. Sweeney also pointed to successful examples in other industries, such as Steam allowing game developers to generate Steam keys and sell them elsewhere without revenue share. He asserted that mobile platforms are far more restrictive in ways that have no technical justification. Granting direct payment options would lower consumer prices, increase developer earnings, and foster healthier competition in the app economy.

The Future of Digital Commerce Hinges on Ending Storefront Fees

In his concluding remarks, Sweeney broadened the discussion to the macroeconomic impact of app store commissions, framing them as a drag on the entire digital economy. He noted the global revenue generated by mobile apps is projected to exceed $500 billion annually, yet a significant portion is siphoned off by two corporations as pure profit. This concentrated wealth extraction, he argued, discourages investment in new app categories, reduces employment in the tech sector, and limits consumer spending elsewhere. Sweeney cited studies showing that if store fees were cut in half, the resulting savings would allow developers to hire more engineers, create more original content, and lower subscription costs for users. He also warned that the commission model may become a template for other platforms — for example, emerging AR glasses, smart car operating systems, and VR headsets — all of which might adopt similar rent-seeking practices. Without decisive legal and political action now, the digital landscape could remain locked under the dominance of a few vertically integrated monopolies. Sweeney called on consumers, developers, and legislators to view app store fees not as a technical detail but as a core issue of economic fairness and digital rights. He ended his speech by declaring that Epic will continue to challenge these fees in every court, every legislature, and every public forum, until the day when developers can reach their users directly, without paying a toll to gatekeepers who add little value and extract immense profits.