Photo Credit: Joshua Hoehne
Cultural metaverse Fortnite is set to return to the U.S. iOS App Store next week following a ruling in the years-long legal battle between Epic Games and Apple.
The decision comes after a California federal court found that Apple had “willfully violated” a previous injunction designed to open the App Store to greater competition and alternative payment methods. The dispute has been ongoing since 2020, when Apple removed the game from its App Store after Epic updated the game to allow players to bypass Apple’s payments system—and the mandatory 30% commission.
Epic responded to Apple’s removal of the game with an antitrust lawsuit, arguing that Apple’s practices stifled competition and harmed both developers and consumers. In 2021, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued an injunction preventing Apple from blocking developers from directing users to alternative payment options.
After years of legal wrangling and appeals, now Judge Gonzalez Rogers has delivered a scathing 80-page decision this week. She concludes that Apple has “intentionally violated a prior court order” and referred the company and its Vice President of Finance, Alex Roman, to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation. In the ruling, Judge Gonzalez Rogers writes:
“This is an injunction, not a negotiation. There are no do-overs once a party willfully disregards a court order. Time is of the essence. The court will not tolerate further delays. As previously ordered, Apple will not impede competition. The court enjoins Apple from implementing new anti-competitive acts to avoid compliance with the injunction. Effective immediately—Apple will no longer impede developers’ ability to communicate with users nor will they levy or impose a new commission on off-app purchases.”
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has called the decision a major victory. “It compels Apple to compete with alternative payment services instead of obstructing them, which is what we sought from the beginning,” Sweeney says. With the issue of payments resolved, Sweeney says the app will return to the iOS store next week—nearly five years after its removal.
“Apple’s 15-30% junk fees are now just as dead here in the United States of America as they are in Europe under the Digital Markets Act,” Sweeney continues on X/Twitter. “Unlawful here, unlawful there.”
Apple has expressed strong disagreement with the ruling and intends to appeal. However, because the court order is effective immediately, Fortnite will be able to return without any objection from Apple until that appeal is heard.
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.