Jonesy sad? Jonesy sad.
You might remember how Epic was suing Apple over Fortnite‘s removal from the app store? And how they made a motion to force Apple to reinstate Fortnite on the App Store while the whole case was still in court?Well, that motion failed. Partially, that is.
U.S. District Court judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers ruled against Epic in regards to forcing Apple to allow Fortnite back on the App Store during the case. But she also ruled in favor of Epic when it came to the motion to stop Apple from retaliating against them while the case was in court.In other words, while Apple is under no obligation to restore Fortnite to the App Store, they also can’t do hilariously petty shit like remove Unreal Engine or other Epic programs from the store.
Which is good news for developers that use Unreal Engine on iOS. It means their games will continue to function on the platform. In a statment on the matter, Epic said:
Epic Games is grateful that Apple will continue to be barred from retaliating against Unreal Engine and our game development customers as the litigation continues. We will continue to develop for iOS and Mac under the court’s protection and we will pursue all avenues to end Apple’s anti-competitive behavior.
It’s still not so great for Epic, though, as Fortnite makes a sizable amount of money for them cross-platform. Which is something that Apple used to rub salt in the self-inflicted wound. Because Apple’s stance on the matter is that Epic can get Fortnite reinstated by simply removing the direct payment features that got them into this mess in the first place.
On the ruling, Apple made this statement:
Our customers depend on the App Store being a safe and trusted place where all developers follow the same set of rules. We’re grateful the court recognized that Epic’s actions were not in the best interests of its own customers and that any problems they may have encountered were of their own making when they breached their agreement. For twelve years, the App Store has been an economic miracle, creating transformative business opportunities for developers large and small. We look forward to sharing this legacy of innovation and dynamism with the court next year.
This decision may, however, point where the trial will likely end up. Epic’s lawyer made the point that 63% of Fortnite players on iOS play only on iOS. A point which, while probably accurate, isn’t much of an issue when, as Apple pointed out, Tim Sweeney himself stated that 90% of players do so on other platforms. To wit, judge Gonzales Rogers questioned Epic’s lawyers on what makes Apple’s ecosystem so unique when the same 30% cut is in place on other platforms, on some of which Fortnite can be found.
If we look at the video game industry, of which your client is a part, the 30% seems to be the industry rate. Steam charges 30%. GOG. Microsoft charges 30%. In the consoles, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, GameStop, Amazon, Best Buy charge 30%. Your client doesn’t. Where is the lack of competition?
Judge Gonzales Rogers
The trial won’t start proper until midway through next year. But even then, that won’t be the end of it. The appeals will probably stretch on forever.
Source: VentureBeat
About Author
