Epic offers ‘peace proposal’ after US court ends Apple’s control over the App Store
Fortnite could return to the iOS App Store in the US next week
Apple has been ordered to change its rules preventing developers from promoting alternative payment methods for its games in the US. And if Apple applies this globally, Epic Games has offered to abandon its litigation against the tech giant and bring Fortnite back to the platform in every country.
That would mean Epic giving up, through legal means, its bid to operate a standalone Epic-run app store on iOS.
Earlier today, Apple was found to have violated a 2021 anti-steering injunction as part of a legal battle with Epic Games. The Judge in the case stated that Apple is no-longer allowed to stop developers informing customers about other ways they can purchase content, subscriptions or in-game currency outside of the App Store. Apple is not allowed to control link placement or the language developers can use on informing customers on purchasing outside of the app.
Most significantly, Apple is not allowed to charge fees on purchases made outside of the App Store (it had introduced a 27% commission on purchases outside of the App Store).
Apple is also barred from using so-called ‘scare screens’ intended to discourage users from leaving the ecosystem and must instead use neutral language.
Apple could now face criminal contempt charges over its failure to comply with the initial 2021 order. The court document stated that Apple VP Alex Roman had “outright lied under oath” during the proceedings.
Epic has declared victory, and although Apple could appeal the decision, the ruling of the Judge regarding Apple’s lack of compliance and behaviour would make that difficult, the Fortnite developer believes.
This ruling is only for the US. Epic’s peace proposal with Apple would require the iPhone maker to apply this framework globally. In exchange, Epic would bring Fortnite to the App Store worldwide — it says it is ready to bring the game back to iOS in the US next week (as long as Apple doesn’t block it). Epic would also drop all litigation against Apple, which includes its efforts to force, by legal means, Apple to allow Epic to set-up its own store on iOS (it will continue to speak with legislators over the issue). Epic had already been ruled against this topic in the US.
“I hold out hope that there’s a way for Apple to get back on the right side of history here.”
- Tim Sweeney, Epic
In a press briefing after the news, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said: “We were one of Apple’s best partners for more than a decade, from the point we released Infinity Blade for iOS and did amazing Unreal Engine support, right up until we started fighting them in 2020. A good decade of awesome partnership. We hope with now the law being classified, and Apple’s legal obligations under these consumer protection laws being clear, and now with Apple being forced by the court to adhere to them, that hopefully we can put our dispute to rest.
“I’ve been fighting Apple for a long time. But I’m an iPhone customers. This is an awesome device. I love having it. I don’t love the policies that Apple has made with respect to stores, but there’s a lot of respect of Epic towards Apple’s quality of product and focus. I hold out hope that there’s a way for Apple to get back on the right side of history here. I think this is a great time for Apple to consider doing that.”