Apple’s victory? The court allowed not to return Fortnite to the App Store yet, but did not allow restricting the Unreal Engine
Apple was spared the need to immediately return Fortnite Battle Royale from Epic Games to the App Store, marking the first court victory for an iPhone maker in the battle over a 30 percent commission charged to app developers.
US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ decision late Monday night is not a complete defeat for Epic Games either. The judge granted a request from the creator of Fortnite to temporarily ban Apple from restricting a game developer’s ability to provide the Unreal Engine to other apps and companies through the App Store.
Apple has faced some backlash from some app developers – they call the App Store’s standard 30% commission on any transactions unfair, especially in light of the ban on alternative payment systems. The scandal erupted with renewed vigor on August 13th when Epic Games informed customers that it would offer discounted direct purchases within Fortnite alongside regular payment via Apple. In response, the Cupertino giant removed the popular battle royale, cutting off access to more than 1 billion iPhone and iPad users.
Ms. Rogers said at the hearing that the case was not clear on both sides, and warned that her temporary ban would not affect the outcome of the proceedings. She set a hearing on Epic Games’ request for a provisional injunction on September 28th. The judge ruled: Epic violated agreements with Apple by trying to make money from purchases through Fortnite, while having free access to Apple’s platform, but did not violate any contracts related to Unreal Engine and developer tools.
Rogers said that limiting Unreal Engine is being tough and detrimental to third-party developers using Epic’s technology platform: ” Epic Games and Apple have the right to sue each other, but their dispute should not create havoc for outsiders. “
Microsoft Corporation, which uses the Epic Games engine in its projects for iOS, has supported Epic in court. Apple said Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney was seeking exclusive Fortnite terms, which Apple executives claim is fundamentally inconsistent with App Store guidelines. Mr. Sweeney claims that he did not ask for special treatment, but wanted the Cupertino giant to lower the commission for all developers.
Of the 2.2 million apps available in the App Store, more than 350,000 are charged a 30% commission. Apple cuts the royalty share to 15% for subscriptions where the consumer pays for more than a year.
