Microsoft joins to support Epic Games, says Apple’s threat to cut Epic’s Unreal Engine would hurt their gaming business

Epic Games, the developers of Fortnite, continues to battle Apple against its app store policies, but they might have just gotten a new supporter. In some court filings, Microsoft is now saying that Apple’s latest threat to cut Epic Games from Apple’s developer tools would hurt their gaming business (via Reuters.)

In the filings, Kevin Gammill, the General Manager of Microsoft’s Gaming Developer Experience division, mentions the importance of Epic’s Unreal Engine and what would happen if Apple opts to cut out access to the developer tool. The GM details that the engine is “critical technology for numerous game creators, including Microsoft.” He also goes on to mention that it delivers the “graphics, rending, physics, sound, and other technologies that run on multiple platforms.”

Today we filed a statement in support of Epic's request to keep access to the Apple SDK for its Unreal Engine. Ensuring that Epic has access to the latest Apple technology is the right thing for gamer developers & gamers https://t.co/72bLdDkvUx

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) August 23, 2020

More importantly, though, Gammill mentions that many creators do not “have the resources or capabilities to build their own game engines, and rely on the availability of third-party engines.” The GM also has some scary words on what that means for the future of Microsoft’s games. He mentions that “if unreal Engine cannot support games for iOS and macOS, Microsoft would be required to choose between abandoning its customers and potential customers on the iOS and macOS platforms or choosing a different game engine when preparing to develop new games.”

These are some pretty strong words from Microsoft, but it all could offer a look at the future of gaming if Apple opts to cut Epic Games’ developer tools. Do you agree with Microsoft? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.