Epic Games

A WSJ piece today suggests that big tech lawyers for Apple, Amazon, Google and other industry giants are not only failing to properly advise their clients, but are “actively encouraging” them to break the law.

The piece suggests that one reason Apple was rebuked by the judge in the Epic Games lawsuit was that its lawyers encouraged the company to abuse legal privilege …

Late Friday, Epic Games sent a letter to U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers accusing Apple of refusing to consider its Fortnite submission, calling it “Apple’s latest attempt to circumvent this Court’s Injunction and this Court’s authority.”

Update May 16, 2025, 8:36 a.m. PT: Apple tells Bloomberg that it did not take action to block Epic Games from releasing its Fortnite update in the European Union. Instead, the company asked it to resubmit the EU update without including the US to avoid impacting other regions.

There’s still no word on the status of Epic’s attempt to bring Fortnite back to the App Store in the US.

Last week, Epic Games announced that it had submitted Fortnite to the App Store in the United States. The move followed an injunction in which a federal judge said Apple couldn’t charge a 27% commission on out-of-app purchases initiated through in-app links.

In a new statement today, however, Epic says that Apple has “blocked” this submission…

Epic Games submitted Fortnite to the App Store for review on Friday. Now what? The version under review offers both Apple’s in-app purchase system and an external payment option via the Epic Games Store. But despite recent policy changes forced by a federal injunction, Apple isn’t legally required to approve the app. Still, rejecting Fortnite could deal Apple a blow in the court of public opinion, especially as its standing with developers continues to slip.

Update: Epic Games says it has submitted Fortnite to the U.S. App Store for review. The ball is now in Apple’s court to approve the app submission.

If Fortnite does return to the U.S. App Store this week, it won’t be before Friday. That’s according to Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, who shared an update on the long-awaited comeback today.

Epic Games‘ five year legal battle against Apple has cost the developer well over $100M in legal fees alone, and CEO Tim Sweeney says that the total cost has been north of a billion dollars.

While Sweeney thinks it was worth it, one high-profile Apple commenter has his doubts – suggesting the legal victory doesn’t necessarily mean Fortnite will be allowed back into the App Store …

Less than 24 hours after Apple’s legal defeat over its App Store model, Epic Games is wasting no time. For starters, Fortnite is set to return to the iOS App Store in the U.S. next week. Under the court’s order, Apple can no longer block apps from directing users to the web to purchase digital content. I’s also barred from collecting a 27% commission on those web-based sales that originate from App Store apps.

Meanwhile, Epic Games has announced two new business moves — one of which takes direct aim at Apple’s in-app purchase revenue model.

When the US Supreme Court upheld the court ruling in the Apple vs Epic Games case, I said that the iPhone maker’s response was clearly made in bad faith, and was effectively giving the middle finger to the judge in the case.

The judge has now officially confirmed this view. She has not only directly called out Apple for ignoring her ruling, but said that a senior Apple exec lied under oath, and referred the matter for prosecution …

One more thing about Apple’s App Store loss to Epic Games: the timing of the court’s decision couldn’t be more pointed.

Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney has announced that the company will submit Fortnite to the iOS App Store in the U.S. next week. The move follows a court decision that ruled against Apple’s App Store practices. However, Fortnite’s return isn’t a sure thing yet…

The latest twist in the long-running legal fight between Apple and Epic Games has delivered a major blow to the company’s App Store operations. In a ruling issued Tuesday, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found Apple in willful violation of a 2021 injunction designed to stop the company’s anticompetitive App Store practices.

According to the 80-page order, Apple “thwarted the injunction’s goals” by imposing new fees and obstacles that continued to stifle competition, despite clear instructions from the court. The judge didn’t just sanction Apple — she referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for possible criminal contempt proceedings.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has turned up the dial to 11 on his anti-Apple rhetoric, calling the iPhone maker a “gangster-style business” which has concluded that “crime pays.”

He said that both Apple and Google are guilty of the same practices, including using scare tactics to make iPhone and Android users afraid to install the Epic Games Store …

The Epic Games Store recently launched on the iPhone in the EU. For the first time, Epic’s own store became an option for some iPhone users, and Android too. But it seems the company behind Fortnite is finding developer royalty rates an ongoing challenge.

The Apple versus Epic Games case rumbles on despite the rejection of attempts to appeal by both companies.

Yesterday one of the judges in the case effectively accused Apple of lying, and now the Cupertino company is attempting a new tactic in a bid to have the ruling either thrown out altogether or narrowed so that only Epic Games benefits …

A second judge in the Apple versus Epic Games lawsuit has implied that the Cupertino company has lied to the court. It comes after the original judge strongly implied that Apple had not told the truth about the reasons for its new App Store policy.

A second judge tasked with overseeing Apple’s disclosure of decision-making documents in the antitrust case said that a court filing made by the company was “simply not believable” …

Epic Games relaunched Fortnite in the EU a couple days ago, after a 4 year legal battle with Apple over the App Store’s 30% revenue cut. Apple announced changes to app distribution in the EU earlier this year, and Epic is finally taking advantage of it to bring Fortnite back to Apple platforms.

Third-party iOS app store AltStore PAL is now free of charge, following a grant provided by Epic Games.

This means there will be no annual subscription fee for new users, and existing subscribers to the EU app store will not be charged when their renewal falls due …

The controversy over Apple’s fees for apps which are sold outside the App Store continues, with both Epic Games and Spotify objecting to the company’s latest attempt to comply with EU antitrust laws.

Spotify has described Apple’s latest fee structure as “confusing and unacceptable,” while Epic Games has called the fees “illegal” …

Epic Games announced today that Fortnite is coming back to the iPhone very soon in the EU. When it does, it will arrive not only in the new Epic Games Store, but also third-party mobile stores like AltStore.

Earlier today, Epic Games accused Apple of deliberately delaying notarization of its Epic Games app marketplace in the European Union. Reuters now reports that Apple has approved the Epic Games app marketplace as of Friday afternoon.

Epic Games has accused Apple of deliberately delaying its attempt to launch its own iOS games store in Europe, and has raised it as a potential antitrust issue with the EU.

The Fortnite developer said that Apple was rejecting its app because the iPhone maker considered the Install and In-app Purchases labels and buttons too similar to those used in its own App Store …