With Apple throwing Fortnite off the App Store, amidst a brewing war with Epic Games over App Store fees, some opportunistic eBayers are trying to take advantage of the situation.
Lifehacker did a little research and found that years-old iPhone models with Fortnite installed are selling for way above their market value. And we mean wayyyyy about their market value.
For, example, there are currently 13 bids on an iPhone 8 Plus with Fortnite installed, and it’s currently going for $6,100 (£4,658). Another device has 17 bids totalling $4,950 (£3,780). The top trade in value of an iPhone 8 Plus through Apple is $220.
Something doesn’t add up here. It’s not 100% clear the bids are genuine, because there are a number of similar listings that have not attracted any bids at the time of writing.
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Still, assuming they are real, that’s a lot of money to fork over just so a child can enjoy another Battle Royale. It’s even more to fork out when the game might not be playable on that phone for much longer.
Apple has vowed to delete Epic Games developer account and access to iOS and macOS development tools at the end of this month, meaning there’ll be no fixes for critical bugs or breaches.
Besides, as Lifehacker points out, if you ever had an iOS device that had Fortnite on at some point, the game will still be associated with their Apple ID. That means you should be able to download it from the Purchased section of the App Store. It’s also possible to, you know, buy an Xbox One or an Android phone and get the game that way.
It’s not clear exactly how the battle between Apple (and Google for that matter) and Epic will play out, but the developer has continued to take the low road. Earlier today it announced a #FreeFortnite tournament with anti-Apple prizes. And then there was this lameness last week:
For its part, Apple is steadfastly sticking to its guns, knowing that yielding in any way will severely restrict its ability to continue taking a 30% cut from all in-app purchases moving forward. This one’s going to get uglier and uglier, folks.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.