Fortnite could return to the U.S. iOS App Store as early as next week following a major legal victory for Epic Games against Apple on Wednesday, after U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that the tech giant was in “willful violation” of a 2021 court injunction aimed at curbing anticompetitive pricing practices.
Court Finds Apple in Willful Violation of Anti-Steering Injunction
The ruling stems from a long-standing legal battle between the two corporate giants. Although Apple prevailed on several arguments during the initial trial with Epic Games, the court issued a critical exception prohibiting the iPhone maker from collecting commissions on purchases completed outside of native iOS applications. At the time, Apple received explicit orders to modify its App Store policies to allow developers to direct users to external websites to complete purchases.
According to the latest court ruling, Apple not only failed to comply with those original orders, but did so “willfully” with the explicit intent of establishing new anticompetitive barriers.
Judicial Referral for Criminal Contempt
Judge Rogers offered a harsh rebuke regarding Apple’s compliance efforts in her written decision. “That it thought this Court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation. As always, the coverup made it worse. For this Court, there is no second bite at the apple,” Rogers wrote. Going a step further, she officially referred the case to the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California to evaluate potential criminal contempt proceedings.
An Apple spokesperson pushed back against the court’s decision, stating that the company plans to appeal. “We strongly disagree with the decision. We will comply with the court’s order and we will appeal,” the spokesperson said.
Tim Sweeney Signals Fortnite’s Return and Proposes Global Deal
Following the ruling, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney took to X to announce that his company would move swiftly to bring Fortnite back to the U.S. App Store as early as next week.
As reported by The Verge, Sweeney also extended a broader proposal to Apple leadership: “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,” he wrote.
Broader Tech Industry Reacts to Landmark Ruling
The decision reverberated throughout the tech sector, drawing praise from other major developers that have long opposed Apple’s App Store payment policies. Music streaming service Spotify issued a statement celebrating the court’s stance.
“This landmark court ruling is a victory for developers everywhere,” said Spotify spokesperson Jeanne Moran in an emailed statement. “Spotify will move quickly to submit an app update to Apple, enhancing the experience for our consumers across the United States.”
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