Apple removed Epic’s popular Fortnite game from the App Store
Apple might now be able to delay having the judge’s ruling take effect for years. In its order granting Apple the stay, the appeals court said, “Apple has demonstrated, at minimum, that its appeal raises serious questions on the merits of the district court’s determination that Epic Games, Inc. failed to show Apple’s conduct violated any antitrust laws but did show that the same conduct violated California’s Unfair Competition Law.”
The lawsuit was filed by Epic back in August 2020 after Apple kicked Epic’s popular Fortnite game out of the App Store after the game developer notified Fortnite players that they could buy in-app accessories for the game-such as V-Bucks -from Epic’s own in-app payment platform and save money. For example, instead of paying $9.99 for 1,000 V-Bucks via the App Store, players could make the same purchase directly from Epic for $7.99.
Apple responded to today’s ruling by making a statement. “We’re constantly evolving the App Store to help create an even better experience for our users and the incredibly talented community of iOS developers,” Apple said. “Our concern is that these changes would have created new privacy and security risks, and disrupted the user experience customers love about the App Store. We want to thank the court for granting this stay while the appeals process continues.”
