- A judge has decided that Apple has put forward a “intentional violation” of previous orders
- Apple should immediately change its App Store -Rules
- That means that Fortnite Could immediately return to the App Store
Apple and Fortnite Developer Epic Games has undergone a very public spit in the last few years, with much of the disagreement centered on fees that Apple charges apps to run on its platforms. Now a judge has made a decision that Apple is deliberately whistling a court order and it may result in Fortnite Dramatically returns to the App Store.
The legal decision stated that Apple should allow third-party developers to tell their users that they could get cheaper offers by buying apps on different sites or app stores-it will say by going somewhere else than the official app store.
However, the judge, who was chairman of this case, has now declared that Apple undertook a “intentional violation” of the order. That’s because even though Apple allowed developers to link to external app stores, it still charged a commission for these purchases, and also kept a tight reins on how these off-site links could be formulated and presented.
The judge gave up that this was a continuation of the competitive practice that the original order tried to ban and have asked Apple to immediately change his app store practice.
Apple cannot now prevent developers from telling users about external app stores, cannot dictate where external links are located or how they are formulated and cannot charge a commission for sales made outside its own app store.
On its part, Apple has told macumors that “we strongly disagree with the decision. We will comply with the order of the court and we will appeal.” Obviously, this whole saga is far from over.
What does it mean to you?
The most interesting aspect of this case is perhaps the way it can affect the game in the heart of it all: Fortnite. The mega-popular title has been banned from the App Store ever since Apple stated that Epic Games was trying to bypass Apple’s commission. Soon, however, it could make a dramatic comeback.
That’s because Epic Games’ CEO Tim Severeney recently went to X to announce that Fortnite Returning to the App Store “next week.” At the same time, Sweeney announced a “peace proposal” that could end the dispute with Apple once and for all.
In the words of the SWENEA, “If Apple extends the court’s friction-free, apple-tax-free frame all over the world we will return Fortnite to the App Store worldwide and release current and future litigation on the subject. “
The original decision only applied to the US App Store, and thus Sweeney’s proposal that Apple should apply the new rules across the globe. If Apple does, we could be in a bigger shaker of the App Store-Med Fortnite leading the road.
