It was a big day for Epic Games: the new payment system for Fortnite bypassed Apple (and its 30% fee) and offered a discount for players to purchase directly. This system violated Apple's App Store policy, and Apple quickly and aggressively responded by removing Fortnite from the App Store altogether; Epic apparently anticipated this, and soon after Fortnite's removal, they released Apple's famous 1984 Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite," a new Fortnite Party Royale short that parodied the Macintosh ad.

But the video was not just for fun: minutes later, Epic announced that it had filed a lawsuit against Apple.

The full text of the lawsuit, which can be found here, first points to the same 1984 ad, which "cast Apple as a beneficial and revolutionary force that would break IBM's monopoly in the computing technology market." Today, however, "Apple has become, as it once resented, a giant company that seeks to dominate the market, obstruct competition, and stifle innovation."

Specifically, the complaint alleges that Apple uses "anticompetitive restraints and monopolistic practices" in both software distribution and payment processing on iOS devices. At the same time, the lawsuit points out that developers of other Apple hardware, such as Macs and Macbooks, are free to operate in an open marketplace, using external stores and direct downloads, with a variety of payment options and more competitive processing fees.

The lawsuit delves deeply into the measures Epic believes Apple is taking to keep users in the iOS market and its hardware, making ten separate allegations, including maintaining an illegal monopoly, denying essential facilities, and unreasonable restraint of trade. Interestingly, it also clearly states that Epic is not asking for money, but merely wants to break Apple's grip.

Top: Epic pokes fun at Apple's famous 1984 ad in Fortnite's Machinima.

"Epic has filed this lawsuit to end the unfair and anticompetitive practices that Apple engages in to illegally maintain its monopoly in two different multi-billion dollar markets, namely (i) the iOS app distribution market and (ii) the iOS in-app payment processing market." The lawsuit states.

"Epic is not seeking monetary compensation from this Court for any damages suffered. Nor is Epic seeking favorable treatment for itself as a single entity. Instead, Epic seeks injunctive relief to allow fair competition in these two important markets that directly affect hundreds of millions of consumers and tens of thousands, if not more, of third-party app developers.

The lawsuit also makes it clear, just for the record, that Epic began this fight with a purpose. It specifically mentions that Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store in response to the new payment system.

"Rather than tolerate this healthy competition and compete on the merits of its offering, Apple responded by removing Fortnite from sale in the App Store. This means that new users will not be able to download the app, and users who have already downloaded previous versions of the app from the App Store will not be able to update to the latest version," the lawsuit states.

"This also means that Fortnite players who downloaded the app from the App Store will not receive Fortnite updates through the App Store, either automatically or by searching the App Store for updates. Apple's removal of Fortnite is another example of Apple bending its immense power to impose unreasonable restraints and illegally maintain its 100% monopoly on the iOS in-app payment processing market."

We will continue to follow this story and update as more information becomes available.