So why can't Epic (or any other company) provide you that option with a 42% premium (to cover Apple's 30% cut) and allow users to buy direct from them? Then if you wish to trust Apple more with your card details, you can pay more for the privelege. Or you can save some money, but potentially increase your risk by going direct.
I've always hated that Apple seem to think they know better than anyone else; you can't do as you wish on their platforms because you might be stupid.
I mean, that’s exactly why I have an Apple device.
No, wait, not that I’m stupid. Though I’m sure some people would call me that.
It’s that they make the decisions for me. I’m specifically paying a premium to delegate the responsibility for making those decisions to them.
I spent years running Nexus devices (since before they were Nexus... still have my ADP1 in a drawer) on Cyanogenmod and LineageOS. At some point I got busy and didn’t have time for my phone to be a hobby or even a thing I had to think about and chose to delegate those decisions to Apple rather than Google because they generally seem to lean more toward privacy-conscious decisions and making money on hardware and apps rather than decisions to support violating my privacy and making money on advertising.
I already paid more for what I agree is a privilege by buying an expensive Apple phone. If you don’t like the rules, then don’t sell here. I’m cool with that. Leave my walled garden alone. I’m comfortable in here.
But those aren't mutually exclusive. You can stay in the walled garden if you wish, and people who are comfortable with the risk can go outside. Choice; something Apple thinks its users are incapable of making sensibly.
Or, again, many people have made that choice and are fine with the situation. If you don't want the locked down device you can just not buy an Apple device?
The action that triggered these events is that Epic chose to sell some items at a higher price via the Apple store to cover the 30% "tax" and make it clearer to consumers that they are paying a premium to the middleman, or at a lower price via in-game currency (which could be purchased elsewhere) directly in the game.
Offering this consumer choice is what lead to Fortnite being banned.
Steam isn't manufacturing computers. This is about Apple the computer manufacturer. It's unfair for them to lock their computers/phones down so people can't install software without Apple's permission.
The App Store is more or less a red herring here (relevant only to the 30% fee being too much).
Is it though? There's no legal precedent that would allow for software vendors to force device manufacturers to allow their software to be run on the manufacturer's hardware. Otherwise we'd see Android on iPhones, legally-mandated Facebook integration on everything, custom car firmware etc.
I've always hated that Apple seem to think they know better than anyone else; you can't do as you wish on their platforms because you might be stupid.