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Apple and Epic’s three-week trial came to a close on Monday. Here’s what you missed if you were busy wiping out Tomato Town.
Rewind: The dispute started in August 2020 when Epic Games, creator of Fortnite, tried to circumvent Apple’s App Store rules by using its own in-game payment system. In response, Apple axed Fortnite from the App Store.
In the courts...
Epic claimed Apple constitutes a monopoly, as it's the lone distributor of its apps to billions of iPhones worldwide. And Epic CEO Tim Sweeney testified that Apple was “making more profit from selling developer apps in the App Store than developers,” due to the 30% commission it takes from developer profits.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said it maintains its tight control over management of the App Store to preserve consumer safety and trust. Apple says it’s just one digital storefront in a sea of ’em, similar to Microsoft’s Xbox Marketplace or Sony’s Playstation Store, where Epic is free to offer Fortnite.
- Apple’s iOS only accounted for 7% of Fortnite’s total revenue from March 2018 to July 2020, and 10.2% of all Fortnite gamers.
Looking ahead: An Epic victory royale (hah) would upend the way Apple governs its App Store, giving third party developers more freedom and profits in the way they manage in-app purchases. A decision isn’t expected for at least a few months.