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As it turns out, the U. S. Supreme Court has heard enough in the ongoing antitrust case Epic v. Apple, rejecting appeals from the Fortnite studio and its adversary Apple, which Epic’s CEO has since called “an unhappy end result for all developers. “
The long-running case between Apple and Epic has been going since at least 2020, after Epic tried to implement its own payment system in Fortnite and bypassing the usual commission paid to Apple for in-app purchases. Apple banned Fortnite from the App Store as a result, and Epic then – after a public campaign throwing shade at Apple for the move – filed a lawsuit in response, accusing both Apple (and, in a later related suit, Google) of anti-competitive practices. While Epic would win its case against Google by December 2023, it wasn’t such a decisive victory against Apple.
Even though Epic won some issues in the case, adding the fact that Apple was first ordered to allow links and calls to action that could bypass Apple’s payment formula, it did not win its bid to reinstate Fortnite on Apple. Store or to force Apple to allow apps to be distributed through third-party stores. According to The Verge, both corporations had attempted to appeal the ruling in an attempt to obtain a more favorable ruling in their favor, but Apple and Epic Games’ petitions were firmly rejected through the Supreme Court.
In response, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney took to X (formerly Twitter) to comment on the resolution in a thread, starting by saying, “The legal war to open up iOS to competing outlets and invoices was lost in the U. S. An unhappy outcome. ” While celebrating the end of what he called “Apple-mandated screens of confusion,” he denounced Apple’s planned implementation of allowing third-party apps, noting that they will still be allowed to charge a large 27% commission. even if the parts are purchased from an online page connected from an app. According to GamesFray’s Twitter account, it also appears that Epic is also being asked to pay legal fees to Apple for the $73. 4 million song.
“The fight goes on,” Sweeney concluded. “Regulators are taking action and policymakers around the world are passing new laws to end Apple’s illegal and anticompetitive app store practices. The European Union’s Digital Markets Act goes into effect March 7.
Elsewhere, a Fortnite leak appears to be in development, an exciting new mode and an unfinished map.
Ben Borthwick is the News Editor for VideoGamer. He’s a fan of action adventure games, music games and especially comedic games like the Monkey Island series.