Epic is sending 'Free Fortnite' swag to influencers

This is the latest swipe in the company's war of words with Apple.

Games giant Epic is still pushing its Free Fortnite campaign, this time sending bags of branded swag to influencers.

As posted on Twitter by Kinda Funny's Greg Miller, this goody bag comes in a white cardboard case, reminiscent of the packaging Apple uses for its hardware, and features a black bomber jacket with rainbow 'Free Fortnite' branding. Again, no prizes for guessing which company Epic is trying to make a point about right here.

If that wasn't enough, the package also comes with the Samsung Galaxy S7 tablet, an Android rival to – you guessed it – Apple's iPad.

"Fortnite was named the Samsung Galaxy Store Game of the Year for 2020," a note from the Epic Games team read.

"In celebration, we've teamed up with Samsung to send you a special box of #FreeFortnite gear. While Fortnite may not currently be available on the App Store of Google Play, you can still get the latest Fortnite updates directly from the Epic Games app on the Galaxy Store. Spread the word."

This is the latest petty swipe that Epic is taking in the wake of being kicked off both the App Store and the Android Google Play store for trying to circumvent their 30% cut on transactions. Shortly after being kicked off these stores, Epic filed lawsuits against both companies and had a video ripping off Apple's iconic 1984 advert – imaginatively named Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite (above) – ready to stoke the flames in its feud against Apple. The company also held a Fortnite event centred around this feud.

The iPhone and App Store company responded to Epic's lawsuit, claiming that the Fortnite firm's CEO Tim Sweeney had been asking for a special deal for Fortnite on the App Store. The exec said Epic wanted better terms for all developers. In a counter-suit, Apple said that Epic's decision to try and bypass App Store payments was "subterfuge."

Epic has had its App Store developer account terminated over this stunt and were it not for a judge intervening, this drama could have impacted the huge numbers of game creators using Epic's Unreal Engine.

Epic and Sweeney have long been saying that Apple takes too much from sales on the App Store. Two years ago, Epic rolled out its own PC storefront – the Epic Games Store – which had an 88/12% revenue split compared to the industry standard of 70/30%