Sabrina Carpenters
of the world, rejoice!
Fortnite
is returning to iPhones. A judge based in California determined that Apple deliberately disobeyed a court order.
back in 2020
When they took away Epic Games as a developer from the iOS App Store, the decision was quite bitter! As Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers stated, “Apple’s ongoing efforts to hinder competition will not go unchecked.” She added, “This is an injunction, not a discussion. Once a party deliberately ignores a court order, there are no second chances… The Court won’t accept any more postponements.”
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Since August 2020, Epic Games has been locked in conflict with Apple over allegations that the tech giant operates as an “illegal monopoly” by charging developers a mandatory 30% fee for all digital transactions within apps. This led to Epic filing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, which resulted in the latter removing Epic’s app from its App Store. It seems quite dubious, doesn’t it? The judge concurs: “Apple must cease anti-competitive practices. From now on, Apple cannot hinder competitors. They can neither prevent communication between developers and users nor enforce additional commissions on external sales initiated through applications.”
The judge further criticized Apple’s Vice President of Finance, Alex Romano, stating he had perjured himself during testimony. Her statement read, “It is clear that Apple knowingly engaged in these actions and consistently opted for strategies that were least conducive to fair market competition.”
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Epic Games creator Tim Sweeney took a celebratory spin around the track.
on Twitter
We plan to bring Fortnite back to the U.S. iOS App Store next week,” he stated. “Epic proposes a truce: Should Apple extend the court’s zero-friction, tax-free arrangement globally, we’ll reinstate Fortnite across all app stores internationally and cease present and upcoming legal actions concerning this matter.
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