Hundreds of millions of dollars spent on legal fees, drawn-out trials, a trip to the Supreme Court, Apple's reputation in the dumps after lying in court, and confirmation that money was Tim Cook's true "North Star"... The Fortnite case will leave deep scars in Cupertino. The Apple company ended up restoring the Epic Games game to the US App Store.
Apple's Humiliation
At the end of summer 2020, the publisher attempted a coup by offering Fortnite players the option to use something other than the App Store system to purchase V-Bucks, the game's currency. This move was completely prohibited by Apple, which prompted the manufacturer to delete the title and Epic Games' developer account in the process.
A long legal saga followed—still not over—which marked a major defeat for Epic. Except for one point: Apple was required to allow developers to freely direct users of their apps to online stores. But the company played its cards close to its chest by imposing numerous restrictions and "scare screens" (warning signs to discourage users), as well as a 27% commission (!) on purchases made online (!!).
Epic therefore returned to court, arguing that Apple was demonstrating obvious ill will. The argument was successful, since last month, the court forced the manufacturer to authorize communication to users without restriction or commission. Several companies jumped on the bandwagon, including Spotify and Amazon—just think, it's now possible to buy Kindle books from the Kindle app, something that was impossible until now! It's a dream.
Apple didn't improve its record, however, as the courts ruled that a vice president had simply lied before the court. Perjury that could lead to criminal charges. All this to protect the App Store's business...
Following this judgment (against which Apple filed a non-suspensive appeal), Epic took a chance and submitted Fortnite to the US App Store, via its Swedish developer account. Apple once again put the brakes on, forcing Epic to go to court again. The latter demanded that Apple explain its refusal to bring the game back to the store, with a hearing scheduled for May 27.
Probably sensing danger, Apple — which has played with fire too much — ended up reopening the App Store door to Fortnite in the United States. The game is still not available elsewhere in the world, except in Europe, but through the alternative app stores Epic Games Store and AltStore.
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