Tim doesn't want open platforms, all he wants is EGS to be able to exist within a walled garden. As long as he gets that, he's golden. If he wanted to support truly open platforms he'd be putting more money and time into helping develop Linux into a stronger contender for desktop and mobile and fighting against things like Play Integrity API, which are just another form of vendor lock-in.
Who cares? He's still doing a hell of a lot more than Apple does, and he's fighting for a better world. It might not be a perfect world, but his world is not antithetically opposed to a Good and Righteous one, like what Apple fights for.
That's your opinion, and I respect it. But let's look at the facts:
- He sued Apple and Google for monopolistic behaviour. He's been fighting for fair access and better deals for all developers, not just Epic Games Store.
- His fight's not about open source or open platforms, it's about fair access, lower fees, and giving developers more control.
- He speaks for millions of independent computer scientists who build games.
- He purchased 7,000-acre Box Creek Wilderness (about US$15 million), fought off a power company's attempt to run lines through it, and donated a conservation easement in 2016 so the land stays wild.
- He's actually walking the talk. While other billionaires post about saving the planet, he's out there buying forests to protect them.
> He sued Apple and Google for monopolistic behaviour.
Meanwhile he doesn't substantially support the one option for computing that doesn't result in vertical control. He uses the tools that enable that control, rather than criticize their existence.
> He speaks for millions of independent computer scientists who build games.
Epic's apparent support for indie developers is marketing to grow his business. This isn't intrinsically a bad thing, but he isn't some golden saint. It also comes at the cost of catering to consumers, which is in large part why EGS has failed to gain traction beyond throwing free games at people in order to try to entice customers to their store. Key word: try. It hasn't worked.
> He purchased 7,000-acre Box Creek Wilderness (about US$15 million), fought off a power company's attempt to run lines through it, and donated a conservation easement in 2016 so the land stays wild.
Whatever. This is just billionaire philanthropy and $15m is a drop in the bucket to these people.
I'm not sure what your expectations are when it comes to billionaires. Tim's definitely not Linus Torvalds, that's for sure. But he's one of the few actually pushing back.
> - He sued Apple and Google for monopolistic behaviour. He's been fighting for fair access and better deals for all developers, not just Epic Games Store.
And yet he did not sue Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft. Each of whom represent a much larger share Epic's revenue than Apple or Google.
And he admitted in court that he was willing to throw all other developers under the bus if Apple had given him the discount he wanted for Epic.
