• Home
  • Games
  • Games News
  • Apple Bars Epic's Fortnite Barred From App Store Until All Court Appeals End

Apple Bars Epic's Fortnite Barred From App Store Until All Court Appeals End

Apple and Epic have been locked in a legal dispute since August last year when the game maker tried to get around Apple's 30 percent fee on some in-app purchases..

Apple Bars Epic's Fortnite Barred From App Store Until All Court Appeals End

Developers have criticised Apple's commission of between 15 percent and 30 percent on App Store purchases

Highlights
  • Apple and Epic Games have been locked in a legal dispute since August
  • Apple is facing a raft of other legal and regulatory challenges
  • Apple confirmed the authenticity of the letter that Sweeney shared
Advertisement

Apple has blacklisted Fortnite from the iPhone maker's popular App Store for several years until all the court appeals are done, Epic Games Chief Executive Officer Tim Sweeney said on Wednesday. Epic Games' opening brief in its appeal to the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is due December 12, according to a court filing and Apple's reply is due by Jan. 20, 2022. The full appeal process could take years.

Sweeney took to Twitter on Wednesday, calling out Apple's move and said the company will continue to fight the tech giant.

"This is another extraordinary anticompetitive move by Apple, demonstrating their power to reshape markets and choose winners and losers," Sweeney said on Twitter.

The two companies have been locked in a legal dispute since August last year when the game maker tried to get around Apple's 30 percent fee on some in-app purchases on the App Store by launching its own in-app payment system.

The US tech giant is facing a raft of other legal and regulatory challenges to rules it forces game makers to follow, including the closely watched antitrust lawsuit brought by Epic Games.

Apple confirmed the authenticity of the letter that Sweeney shared, but declined to comment further. Apple has not yet said whether it will ask for the injunction to be paused pending the appeal process.

"Epic committed an intentional breach of contract, and breach of trust, by concealing code from Apple and making related misrepresentations and omissions," the iPhone maker told Epic Games, according to the letter shared by Sweeney.

Developers have long criticised Apple's commissions of between 15 percent and 30 percent on many App Store purchases, what some developers see as an opaque and unpredictable app-vetting process.

Earlier this month, a US federal judge struck down some of Apple's App Store rules, forcing the company to allow developers to send their users to other payment systems in a partial win for Epic Games and other app makers.

Apple's shares were up 1.3 percent at $145.26 (roughly Rs. 10,710 crores) on Wednesday.

© Thomson Reuters 2021


This week on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, we discuss iPhone 13, new iPad and iPad mini, and Apple Watch Series 7 — and what they mean to the Indian market. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

HP 11-inch Tablet PC With a Flippable Camera Launched; New Devices With Windows 11 Compatibility Announced
Facebook Warns It Is 'Underreporting' iOS Advertising Results Amid Apple Privacy Changes
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »