Microsoft will cut its charges for video game developers who publish games in its online store, starting August, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
According to the report, developers can now keep 88 percent of the revenue that they make from their games, up from 70 percent earlier, making Microsoft’s store more attractive to independent developers and smaller gaming studios.
The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The move comes at a time when Apple is battling a lawsuit filed last year by Fortnite creator Epic Games alleging that the iPhone maker has abused its dominance in the market for mobile apps.
In legal filings, Epic has accused Apple of trapping people in its mobile device world and collecting “outsized commission” at the App Store that serves as the only source of digital content.
Apple counters that it has no monopoly when it comes to digital games and that the suit is part of an effort by Epic to portray “Apple as the ‘bad guy’ so that it can revive flagging interest in Fortnite.”
Apple pulled Fortnite from its App Store in August of last year after Epic released an update that dodges revenue sharing with the iPhone maker, and the companies are now locked in a legal battle.
A trial in the case is set to begin May 3 in US federal court.