In early September, Epic Games sent a petition to the court asking Apple to ban Fortnite from being removed for the duration of the proceedings. Yesterday, the court heard the arguments of the parties and decided: the battle royale will not appear in the App Store yet, and the case itself should be handed over to the jury. A new hearing will take place no earlier than July 2021.
We have collected the main thing from the last hearing.
Temporary Fortnite banEpic Position
According to the Fortnite developer, the ban of the application causes significant damage to the company’s business. Epic stated that 63% of the iOS players of this battle royale run it only on iOS and nowhere else.
Apple’s position
The company continues to insist that Fortnite can be returned to the App Store as soon as Epic re-complies with the rules of the marketplace. In addition, Apple claims that its store is just one of many where gamers can download this battle royale, and only 10% of Fortnite iOS users play it on a regular basis.
Judge’s position
Yvonne Gonzales Rogers noted that Epic acted dishonestly from the very beginning. The developers knew that they were violating the rules of the store, but they still went against them.
The judge also stressed that Apple’s actions do not stand out from the generally accepted practice for the gaming industry. The same 30% commission in addition to the App Store is also charged by Steam, GOG, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, GameStop, Amazon, Best Buy. They are all competitors of Apple and there is Fortnite everywhere.
Walled gardens have been around for decades. Nintendo had a fenced garden. Sony had a fenced garden. Microsoft had a fenced garden. Apple is not much different from them.
Federal Judge in Oakland, USA
Verdict: Epic’s desire to remove the ban from Fortnite for the duration of office work will remain unsatisfied.
Monopoly on the payment systemEpic Position
According to the developers, Apple relies on double standards when talking about payments inside iOS applications. The publisher points out that the “apple” corporation in most cases forces to conduct all transactions only through the Apple payment system. However, premium video entertainment services like Prime Video, Altice One and Canal+ allow the use of other payment systems. As with ridesharing applications.
Epic believes that app developers would happily choose less expensive payment systems, but Apple is wary of competition.
Apple’s position
The corporation clarifies that its payment system is part of the entire Apple business, and not a separate product that competes with anyone.
Apple also adds that the App Store includes a lot of innovations and it’s normal that such a valuable project requires a lot of payment.
Judge’s position
Gonzalez Rogers agrees with Apple’s arguments. In her opinion, this payment system is not considered as an independent business. In addition, the American corporation uses it to ensure the safety of users.
The judge concluded that at the moment the issue is removed from the agenda. Further proceedings will take place in a jury trial, but not before June 2021.
Also on the topic:
- Epic Games asked the court to prohibit Apple from deleting Fortnite and changing its codeApple responded to Epic Games and said that the creators of Fortnite “hold their customers hostage”
- Spotify, Epic Games and Match Group formed a coalition against Apple’s policy
- Is there any news?
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