Epic Games has claimed victory in its legal battle against Apple, after a court enforced an injunction which prohibits the tech giant from collecting fees on purchases made outside its App Store in the US.
In addition, Apple is no longer allowed to stop developers from encouraging US-based users to make payments via alternative methods – like web transactions – that circumvent its ecosystem.
The ruling is effective immediately. As a result, Fortnite will return to the App Store in the US next week, Epic’s Tim Sweeney revealed on Twitter.
“The Court enjoins Apple from implementing its new anticompetitive acts to avoid compliance with the Injunction,” reads the order. “Effective immediately Apple will no longer impede developers’ ability to communicate with users nor will they levy or impose a new commission on off-app purchases.”
The full ruling by the Northern District of California Court also refers Apple and its vice president of finance Alex Roman to the local US attorney for investigation regarding criminal contempt. The Verge reports that Apple will appeal the order.
Regarding Roman specifically, the order states he “outright lied under oath”.
The original injunction was ordered following a trial between Epic and Apple in 2021, which ruled that Apple’s 30% commission was ‘anticompetitive’, and that it needed to allow developers to direct users to alternative payment options.
Following this, however, Apple added a 27% commission to ‘off-app’ purchases.
The resulting new ruling explains that Apple used methods like ‘scare screens’ to deter users from exiting its ecosystem to make payments.
“Apple’s goal: to dissuade customer usage of alternative purchase opportunities and maintain its anticompetitive revenue stream,” reads the order on this point. “In the end, Apple sought to maintain a revenue stream worth billions in direct defiance of this Court’s Injunction.”
The results of the order only apply to the US, but Sweeney pitched a larger compromise on Twitter.
“Epic puts forth a peace proposal: If Apple extends the court’s friction-free, Apple-tax-free framework worldwide, we’ll return Fortnite to the App Store worldwide and drop current and future litigation on the topic.”
Last month, Apple was fined $568 million by the EU for deterring third-party payment methods that circumvent the App Store.
