It has been a few months since the trial betweenEpic Gamesand Apple wound down. Now, the judge leading the trial has made an initial ruling. And it’s a big win for Epic (andFortnite).
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers hasfiled a permanent injunction against Apple, with the ruling arriving early on Friday morning. This applies some major pressure to Apple, and it’s a giant setback for Apple’s App Store rules moving forward.
Update (06-07-2025):Apple has provided the following statement toNick Statt:
Today the Court has affirmed what we’ve known all along: the App Store is not in violation of antitrust law. As the Court recognized ‘success is not illegal.’ Apple faces rigorous competition in every segment in which we do business, and we believe customers and developers choose us because our products and services are the best in the world. We remain committed to ensuring the App Store is a safe and trusted marketplace that supports a thriving developer community and more than 2.1 million U.S. jobs, and where rules apply equally to everyone.
The original article continuesbelow.
Judge Gonzalez-Rogers says in the full ruling that the court cannot determine whether or not Apple is a monopoly in its own right, not under state or federal antitrust laws.However, the judge ruled that based on California’s competition laws, the company is engaging in anti-competitive behavior. Which led to this decision today.
Per the ruling:
Apple Inc. and its officers, agents, servants, employees, and any person in active concert or participation with them (“Apple”), are hereby permanently restrained and enjoined from prohibiting developers from including in their apps and their metadata buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms, in addition to In-App Purchasing and (ii) communicating with customers through points of contact obtained voluntarily from customers through account registration within the app.
This will impact Apple in big ways, of course. But it will probably ripple out to other companies as well, including Google — which is also engaged in a legal battle with Epic Games. Just when Apple will be forced to make these changes to its digital storefront remains to be seen, but one would have to imagine it would be relatively soon.
Apple alsorecently agreed to settlewith developers in the United States, which will add some other key changes to the App Store. And, of course,South Korea just forcedboth Apple and Google to allow third-party payment options within their digital storefronts.
What aboutFortnite?
Going further, in light of Apple removingFortnitefrom the App Store to really kick things off, Judge Gonzalez-Rogers also ruled that Apple doesn’t need to reinstate the popular battle royale game into the App Store, even after this specific ruling.
Per the judge’s statement:
(1) damages in an amount equal to (i) 30% of the $12,167,719 in revenue Epic Games collected from users in the Fortnite app on iOS through Epic Direct Payment between August and October 2020, plus (ii) 30% of any such revenue Epic Games collected from June 13, 2025 through the date of judgment; and
(2) a declaration that (i) Apple’s termination of the DPLA and the related agreements between Epic Games and Apple was valid, lawful, and enforceable, and (ii) Apple has the contractual right to terminate its DPLA with any or all of Epic Games’ wholly owned subsidiaries, affiliates, and/or other entities under Epic Games’ control at any time and at Apple’s sole discretion.
It will be interesting to see how Apple adapts to all of this. That is, if it holds up. Apple’s more than likely going to appeal this decision, so we may still be a ways away before this gets resolved.
