They didn’t suddenly intentionally break App Store policies without a strategy. They think they sense blood in the water, that somehow Apple will be legally and/or politically vulnerable. They’re probably angling for a deal at the negotiating table, but they’re most likely prepared to go to trial and fight for a W, and even if they earn an L, try to use it to some kind of political advantage after the transition of power next year.

EDIT: I just checked my email, actually forgot that I once played a couple games of Fortnite and signed up, wasn’t my thing, and there’s a pretty big PR component to it as well advertising permanently discounted prices on quoting from the email. “PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC and Mac, and on mobile when using select payment methods.“

It also pointed me to this blog post[1] that already has an update at the top about Apple blocking “your” access complete with hashtag campaign and activist-style messaging. They’re going whole hog here, there’s nothing half hearted about this. I don’t have a horse in this race, but I respect the planning and the balls.

[1] https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/the-fortnite-m...

"When you strike at a king, you must kill him." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Almost like it was the plan all along. You don't write a 65 page legal filing in an hour.

I imagine they had this drafted prior to Epic uploading the update that included direct payments.