Fortnite and the apple have been fighting a court battle since August. Apple reacted against allegations by the creator of the Fortnite game that control of the App Store gives it a monopoly over the game. In response to the lawsuit filed by Epic Games, Apple called these arguments “hypocritical” and “selfish”.
The company denied that its 30% commission was anti-competitive and said the fight was “a basic disagreement about money”. Apple also said Epic Games had breached its contract and asked for damages.
The order is the latest in a court battle that began last month, after Fortnite offered a discount on its virtual currency for purchases made outside the app, in which Apple receives a 30% share. In response, Apple blocked Epic’s ability to distribute updates or new applications through the App Store, and Epic sued the company, claiming that App Store practices violate antitrust laws.
The court allowed Apple’s ban on updates to continue as the case unfolded, but the existing version of Fortnite still works, as does Epic’s payment system.
The rise of Fortnite
Fortnite is an online game developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in three different game mode versions that share the same general gameplay. The game has been successful in the midst of e-sports, bringing together thousands of players. As with betting on football, tennis, volleyball and other physical sports, Fortnite is one of the virtual games that also move bets on the network.
Still in 2017, Fortnite was considered as “Best Co-op Game” by PC Gamer, and as “Best Spectator Game” by IGN. In 2018, the game won the Best Continuous Game award from PC Gamer and IGN, which nominated it as “Best Nintendo Switch Game”, “Best Mobile Game” and “Best Action Game”.
Antitrust concerns
Apple said it would allow Fortnite to return to the store if Epic withdraws the direct payment feature to fulfill its developer contract. But Epic declined, saying that fulfilling the order would be “conspiring with Apple to maintain its monopoly on payments in the iOS app”.
In its lawsuit, Apple said Epic benefited from Apple’s developer and promotion tools, earning more than $ 600 million (more than $ 3 billion) through the App Store. Apple accused the company of seeking a special deal with Chinese tech giant Tencent before finally breaking its contract with the update.
“Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality it is a multi-billion dollar company that simply does not want to pay anything for the tremendous value it earns from the App Store,” the document said.
The legal battle between the two companies comes at a time when Apple faces increasing scrutiny of its practices of running the App Store. At a summer hearing in Washington, politicians also raised concerns that Apple’s control over the app store would hurt competition.
