Epic Games has referenced a World War 2 slogan that aimed to rally US citizens into battle in its latest Apple lawsuit statement. The latest update from Epic is titled ‘Why We Fight,’ a reference to the 1942 US documentary series of the same name, which helped convince the US public to support the country’s involvement in WW2.
Epic has been locked in a legal battle with Apple since it offered players a direct way to pay for Fortnite V-Bucks, the battle royale’s in-game currency, which avoided Apple taking a cut of the profits. As a result, Apple dropped Fortnite from its iOS App Store, with the future of Epic’s software on Apple devices still undecided.
Before the legal battle commenced, Epic started its #FreeFortnite social campaign, with it seeking to mobilize Fortnite players into supporting them in their fight against Apple. Now the company has taken another step further, this time taking notes from a World War 2 documentary series in order to continue to convince readers to support them over Apple.
“You, as a mobile device owner, have the right to install apps from sources of your choosing,” the ‘Why We Fight’ blog post reads. “Software makers have the right to freely express their ideas and to compete in a fair marketplace. Apple’s policies take these freedoms away.”
This isn’t the first time that a World War 2 slogan has been co-opted for other means — the ‘We Want You’ poster of Uncle Sam pointing at the reader has been utilized by companies the world over — but it does feel like another tone-deaf move in what is essentially a battle of the billionaires, with Fortnite‘s mostly young player base being pulled in as advocates for the cause.
At a time when the vast majority of the population have got far more pressing world events to be concerned about than whether or not Epic is making as much money from Apple as it should, this #FreeFortnite campaign continues to be astoundingly tactless. Hopefully the lawsuit is cleared up sooner rather than later, so Epic, Apple, and the rest of us can be free of this ongoing PR nightmare.
