[n_u_l_l]

When I read the mail initially on The Verge[1] a few hours ago, I definitely got the idea that Epic was open to negotiate in the first mail. The mail was the first contact Epic and Apple had about this, before anything happened, and was sent around the time of the Apple antitrust investigations. The mail mentions the benefits to consumers, and that Epic would commit to providing a high-quality, secure, user experience. He requested that Apple would allow Epic to provide a competing app store, and hoped that they would also make those options available to other iOS developers.

I don't think it's too far-fetched to think that Tim Sweeney wanted to negotiate bringing the Epic Store to iOS. The Epic Store is one of the bigger stores on PC after all, so he might think that Epic would be able to get an exception.

I do however agree that it can be read both ways.

1. https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/21/21396313/apple-fortnite-l...