Epic Games secured a pivotal victory in its legal battle against Apple, which could pave the way for Fortnite‘s return to the U.S. App Store in the coming days.
On Wednesday, Judge Yvonne González Rogers ruled that Apple was in “clear violation” of a 2021 court order that barred the company from enforcing anti-competitive pricing practices.
While Apple had won most arguments during the trial, a key ruling required it to allow developers to link to external payment methods, bypassing its 30% commission. However, instead of complying, Apple “willfully defied” the order, even introducing new restrictions that made the process more difficult.
Judge Rogers was unequivocal: “To think this court would tolerate such defiance was a serious miscalculation. There will be no second chance.” She also referred the case to the U.S. Department of Justice to assess potential contempt penalties.
Following the ruling, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney announced on X (formerly Twitter) that Fortnite will return to the U.S. App Store next week. However, he extended an offer to Apple: “If you drop commissions and anti-steering rules globally, we’ll relaunch Fortnite worldwide and drop all current and future lawsuits on the matter.”
The decision was celebrated by other tech companies impacted by Apple’s policies. “This is a historic win for developers everywhere,” said Spotify spokesperson Jeanne Moran, adding that the company plans to swiftly update its app to improve the user experience in the U.S.
This ruling marks a new chapter in the fight for a fairer, more competitive App Store.
By: Nestor Castillo, ForAllTechNews Director
Image credit: By Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic