Epic Games, developer of the popular Fortnite game, said yesterday that it opposes Apple’s request for a stay that would temporarily block Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ injunction from taking effect. That injunction prevents Apple from stopping game developers from sending subscribers a link to alternative payment platforms. Apple demands that games listed in the App Store use its own payment system which gives Apple a 30% cut of in-app revenue.
Apple is looking to stall the start of the injunction hoping to continue to sock developers with its 30% cut of in-app payments
Epic tried to get Fortnite players to use its own in-app payment platform instead of Apple’s
Apple’s requested the stay which could put the injunction on hold until the case has been put through the entire appeals process. That could take a year or longer to complete giving Apple all of that extra time to block developers from linking to alternative payment options. Thus Epic is complaining that this is essentially a stall tactic allowing Apple to continue to force developers to pay it 30% of in-app revenue.
Apple originally said that it won the lawsuit, but later appealed the ruling
When the original ruling was announced on September 11th, some analysts called it a win for Epic while others said that it was a victory for Apple. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said, “Today’s ruling isn’t a win for developers or for consumers. Fortnite will return to the iOS App Store when and where Epic can offer in-app payment in fair competition with Apple in-app payment, passing along the savings to customers.”
In discussing Apple’s request for a stay, the company’s legal team stated, “The requested stay will allow Apple to protect consumers and safeguard its platform while the company works through the complex and rapidly evolving legal, technological, economic issues that any revisions to this Guideline would implicate.”
