Epic Games appeals App Store case against Apple

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Epic vs. Apple
The fight continues.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

You might think Fortnite creator Epic Games would be pretty ecstatic with the recent ruling that says Apple must allow developers to offer third-party payment methods inside their iOS apps. But that’s not the case.

Epic has expressed its dissatisfaction with the outcome in recent days, and has now confirmed it has filed a notice of appeal against the decision. It seems the company has no plans to bring Fortnite back to iOS just yet.

Epic unhappy with App Store ruling

Epic lost nine out of the ten counts against Apple in its effort to open up the App Store. But it won a very important one that means Apple must now allow third-party developers to promote and offer alternative payment solutions.

The decision means Epic (and every other developer) can sell in-game items and virtual currency directly to its players — and avoid the 30% cut Apple charges big developers. It seems, however, that it’s not enough.

“Today’s ruling isn’t a win for developers or for consumers,” Epic CEO Tim Sweeney tweeted Friday. “Epic is fighting for fair competition among in-app payment methods and app stores for a billion consumers.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, Epic on Sunday confirmed that it has filed a notice of appeal against the ruling.

Will Fortnite return to iPhone and iPad?

So, its battle with Apple will rage on for now. In the meantime, it’s highly unlikely Fortnite will return to iPhone and iPad — despite Epic now being free to do what it wanted in the first place (to charge players directly).

Fortnite will return to the iOS App Store when and where Epic can offer in-app payment in fair competition with Apple in-app payment, passing along the savings to consumers,” Sweeney added on Twitter.

It’s not quite clear why Epic feels it cannot do that now, given that it can compete with Apple on in-app purchases by offering its own payment method. Its decision to keep on fighting hasn’t gone down well with many.

Fortnite players are upset that the game still won’t be coming back to the App Store any time soon, while others feel like Epic has lost sight of what it set out to achieve with this battle initially.

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