Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has said that Sony is the reason why the company is unable to offer Fortnite at a lower price on the PlayStation Store. Sweeney commented during the Epic v. Google trial, showing how aggressive Sony is when making deals with publishers and developers.
Sweeney said that the reason for this is a Most Favored Nations (MFN) clause in the contract between Epic and Sony. (Thanks TheVerge) Sweeney said that this clause is standard in PlayStation contracts, which makes sense overall since Sony doesn’t want players to go to other platforms due to pricing.
“We cannot sell out of PlayStation at a lower price than we sell on PlayStation.”
Google has suggested that the MFN clause is shady, given Sony is now an Epic Games shareholder. However, Sweeney has denied this, saying that the clause is simply a standard part of PlayStation contracts.
The Verge used to have Spotify’s MFN clause with Sony up but took it down. However, we can still use their summary of it as an example:
“Section 13 [of the clause] essentially makes every major aspect of the contract amendable if any other label has a better deal or interpretation of that aspect than Sony Music. Section 13(2) lists the provisions which can be amended in Sony Music’s contract if a better deal is obtained by another music label, including what constitutes an “active user,” the definition of gross revenue, and any improved security provisions. Sony Music can call on an independent auditor once a year to determine whether Spotify has struck a more agreeable deal with any other labels.”
The MFN clause is just one of several issues that Epic Games has raised in its antitrust lawsuit against Google. Epic is also challenging Google’s 30% commission on in-app purchases, which it argues is excessive and anticompetitive. The outcome of the lawsuit could have significant implications for the future of the app store ecosystem.