> I think Epic's real motivation here is to run their own App Store
Yeah, you're right. That is the outcome that we want. We want multiple stores on iOS. I thought advocates for this position had been really clear, but maybe we haven't been clear enough.
For the record, we want there to be multiple app stores on iOS.
> build a bigger moat and get the profits themselves
You're worried that Epic's store is going to eventually overrun Apple's and then Epic will somehow prevent other stores from being installed on iOS devices? You're worried that we'll get a bigger moat than literally not being able to run any code on the device that doesn't pass through Apple's review process?
What on earth would that theoretical bigger moat even look like?
> and get the profits themselves (12% cut, 5% if you use Unreal Engine)
I want to follow up on this in the context of your worry about moats. We live in a world where Apple has complete control over the app ecosystem, and you're frightened that another company might get control and... offer better terms than we have right now?
What specifically is the horror scenario that you're frightened of?
> They also make exclusive deals, where the games can only bought in their store for 6-12mo.
I can only imagine how upset you're going to be when you learn about how Apple Arcade works.
> Tencent is also 40% shareholder in Epic
Apple actively censors thousands of apps in China from the app store right now. You are worried about accidentally funding censorship through indirect means, and your response to that is to directly take the side of one of the censors.