Epic Urges Appeals Court to Overturn Apple App Store Ruling

Thursday’s filing escalates a battle that began in 2020 after the iPhone-maker removed the Fortnite game from the App Store because Epic created a workaround to paying a 30% fee on customers’ in-app purchases.

After a trial, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers mostly sided with Apple, rejecting Epic’s claims that the iPhone maker is a monopoly. Still, she found that Apple has engaged in some anticompetitive conduct and ordered the Cupertino, California-based technology giant to allow app and game developers to steer consumers to outside payment methods on the web. All developers for the first time could be able to include a button and web links in their apps to let users pay for transactions online, circumventing Apple’s fees.

This case is part of Epic’s global campaign against the world’s most valuable company. Epic, which took in more than $5 billion from Fortnite in 2020, also has filed complaints against Apple in the European Union, U.K. and Australia, and the game maker is suing Google over its Google Play store.