By Gavin Boyle
Gaming behemoth Epic Games plans to return its titles, including Fortnite, to the App Store after winning a lawsuit against Apple that challenged its 30% in-app purchase charge.
“This is an injunction, not a negotiation. There are no do-overs once a party willfully disregards a court order,” the ruling stated, per Variety. “Time is of the essence. The Court will not tolerate further delays. As previously ordered, Apple will not impede competition. The Court enjoins Apple from implementing its new anticompetitive acts to avoid compliance with the Injunction. 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 ruling came after a nearly five year long lawsuit where Epic alleged Apple held a monopoly over the apps people could download, only allowing verified downloads from the App Store. Furthermore, Epic claimed that Apple was abusing this position by taking a cut of profits, even when users paid developers through channels outside of the App Store.
To combat this issue, Epic attempted to create its own app library through which users could pay for products without having to send up to 30% of the profit to Apple. Apple, however, blocked this plan under the guise of security risks.
This new court ruling found Apple to be in the wrong, meaning developers no longer have to share profits with Apple if users pay them through channels outside of the App Store.
“NO FEES on web transactions. Game over for the Apple Tax,” Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney wrote on X. “Apple’s 15-30% junk fees are now just as dead here in the United States of America as they are in Europe under the Digital Markets Act. Unlawful here, unlawful there.”
“We will return Fortnite to the US iOS App Store next week,” Sweeney added in a later post. “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.”
We will return Fortnite to the US iOS App Store next week.
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. https://t.co/bIRTePm0Tv
Related: Why Fortnite’s Popularity is Surging 6 Years After Its Release
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 30, 2025
Though Apple maintains its innocence in the case, the company has agreed to follow the court’s order for now, though new lawsuits are expected to arise.
“We will comply with the court’s order and we will appeal,” Apple said in a statement.
While this order will have to hold up to new scrutiny as Apple seeks a way to reestablish its old position of power, it could transform how apps operate, allowing developers to offer their services at a much lower cost — if they can cut out Apple’s share of the profits and pass those savings on to the consumers.
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