A few weeks ago, Epic announced that Fortnite would be returning to the App Store, but that clearly hasn’t happened yet. The situation’s a bit tricky, but basically, Epic has submitted the game a couple of times, but Apple hasn’t approved it yet. This is despite the fact that Epic claims to have met Apple’s guidelines. Now, a US judge is putting pressure on Apple to allow Fortnite to return to the App Store.
Fortnite’s return to the App Store
US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has confirmed that the court has received Epic’s latest motion, which demands that Apple approve Fortnite for distribution on the App Store. The judge asks Apple to show the court the “legal authority upon which Apple contends that it can ignore this Court’s order.”
According to Gonzalez Rogers, “Apple is fully capable of resolving this issue without further briefing or a hearing.”
Epic initially celebrated its win, which would force Apple to allow links to external payment systems for apps, by announcing Fortnite’s return to the App Store. However, Apple’s argument for not approving the app is that the company had filed a request for a partial stay on the new injunction. Basically, the company is saying that until the legal proceedings have entirely played out, it does not need to comply. However, Gonzalez Rogers’ latest comments suggest otherwise.
Epic’s battle with Apple
Apple and Epic have been fighting it out in the courts for years. Epic was initially displeased with how companies like Apple and Google take such a significant cut from app sales and in-app purchases. Apple also denied developers the option of putting notices or messages in their apps to point users to an external purchase method.
However, the court did rule that Apple had to allow developers the option of using external payment methods. But Apple turned around and still insisted on collecting a commission on it. Instead of 30%, it now collected 27%, which honestly isn’t a huge difference. This led to judge Gonzalez Rogers to call out Apple’s actions, saying it was a willful violation of the court’s injunctions.
Now, whether or not the judge can force Apple to approve the return Fortnite to the App Store is unclear. After all, if an app doesn’t meet Apple’s guidelines, the company has no obligation to approve it. However, in this case it feels like Apple is purposely dragging out the situation longer than it has to.
But if Apple were to comply, begrudgingly or not, it could set a legal precedent that other grieved developers could follow up on.
