On Friday, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers made a ruling on the heated court case between Apple and Fortnite developers Epic Games. Judge Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple was breaking the law by forcing customers to pay for apps and in-app items through the Apple App Store. Apple gains 30% of the profits of all purchases in its app store. Gonzalez Rogers gave the company 90 days to allow more payment options.
However, the judge did not side with Epic’s claims that Apple had a monopoly on how payments are processed in mobile games. Furthermore, the judge ruled in favor of Apple’s counter-sue of Epic Games’ breach of contract. When Fortnite was on the Apple Store, Epic Games began using its own payment system to get around Apple’s fee. This was against Apple’s contract as the company is supposed to receive around 30% of all purchases made on their app. Epic Games made around $12 million on the Apple app store before it was removed. Under the judge’s ruling Epic Games will need to pay Apple around 30% of that total revenue.
The conflict between Apple and Epic Games began last year when Apple removed Fortnite from its app store. Though the judge’s rulings offered some small wins for both Apple and Epic Games it will likely not completely satisfy both companies. Though Epic Games forced Apple to now allow different payment methods for apps purchased in their app store, Apple’s actions were not considered a breach of anti-trust laws and were not declared a monopoly as Epic claimed.
Reporter Mark Gurman tweeted out Apple’s response:
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney responded back with his own tweet on the behalf of the company.
