On Friday, Epic Games revealed that its immensely popular game, Fortnite, will be unavailable on Apple devices after the iPhone maker blocked a crucial app update. This conflict arises shortly after a significant ruling by a judge that limited the commissions Apple collects from third-party apps distributed via its App Store.
The ongoing dispute comes in the wake of a rebuke from U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who sided with Epic Games, which accused the tech giant based in Cupertino, California, of violating an order she issued in 2021. This order found that Apple engaged in anticompetitive behavior. Under her ruling, Apple is barred from collecting commissions on purchases made by U.S. customers through links within iPhone apps that redirect them to external websites.
App developers, including Epic Games, aim to avoid sharing revenue with Apple by directing customers to external sites for digital goods and services. The judge emphasized the severity of Apple's actions, stating, “That Apple thought this court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation.” Many developers welcomed this ruling as it limits what they refer to as the Apple tax, claiming they would pass the savings on to their customers.
Earlier this month, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney expressed optimism that Fortnite would return to the App Store in the U.S. and possibly on a global scale if Apple adopted a “friction-free, Apple tax-free framework” worldwide. However, following the app submission blockade, the Fortnite X account announced, “Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it.”
Epic Games has yet to respond to requests for further comments regarding this situation. In contrast, Apple stated that it requested Epic to resubmit the app update without the U.S. storefront to avoid impacting Fortnite in other regions. The company clarified, “We did not take any action to remove the live version of Fortnite from alternative distribution marketplaces.”
Rob Enderle, a principal analyst at the Enderle Group, noted that the recent ruling primarily applies within the U.S., and Apple is likely aiming to maintain its control globally. He mentioned, “Apple is using their strength to prevent Fortnite from benefiting globally from their core win.” Epic Games initially filed its lawsuit against Apple in 2020, aiming to allow users to purchase digital items, like skins, outside of the Apple ecosystem to avoid commission fees.
While the court ruled that Apple does not hold a monopoly in the mobile gaming market, it ordered the company to permit developers to include links in their apps for outside purchases, thereby bypassing Apple's commission fees. However, according to the judge, Apple defied the order by limiting how developers could communicate with customers regarding out-of-app purchases and employing language that discouraged users from clicking on those links.
The ruling also outlined that Apple would impose a commission fee for any goods or services purchased within seven days of a user clicking a link that directed them out of the app. Currently, Apple is appealing the ruling and maintains a strong disagreement with the judge’s decision.
