All the way back in August of 2020 Epic Games launched an antitrust lawsuit against Apple mostly revolving around the 30% fees charged by the Apple app store. In response, among other actions such as pulling Fortnite, Apple launched a countersuit. After years of legal battles in April of 2023, Apple won 9 of 10 counts. However that 10th count where they lost was a very big deal: The decision concludes the first part of the battle between the two companies over Apple’s App Store policies and whether they stifle competition. Apple won on nine of 10 counts but was found to engage in anticompetitive conduct under California law, and will be forced to change its App Store policies and loosen its grip over in-app purchases. The injunction will come into effect in December. “The Court concludes that Apple’s anti-steering provisions hide critical information from consumers and illegally stifle consumer choice,” Rogers wrote. “When coupled with Apple’s incipient antitrust violations, these anti-steering provisions are anticompetitive and a nationwide remedy to eliminate those provisions is warranted.” This ruling basically meant that Apple had to allow applications to be able to use 3rd party payment systems. In an act of malicious compliance, Apple instead imposed a 27% fee (in place of the usual 30%) for apps that used external payment systems. This action is what ultimately lead us to the ruling today. The following from GameIndustry.biz: Epic Games has claimed victory in its legal battle against Apple, after a US court enforced an injunction which prohibits the tech giant from collecting fees on app purchases made outside its App Store. In addition, Apple is no longer allowed to stop developers from encouraging US-based users to make payments via alternative methods – like web transactions – that circumvent its ecosystem. The ruling is effective immediately. As a result, Fortnite will return to the App Store in the US next week, Epic’s Tim Sweeney revealed on Twitter. “The Court enjoins Apple from implementing its new anticompetitive acts to avoid compliance with the Injunction,” reads the order. “Effective immediately Apple will no longer impede developers’ ability to communicate with users nor will they levy or impose a new commission on off-app purchases.” Even worse for Apple, the judge recommended Apple and a key VP be referred for criminal contempt charges: The full ruling by the Northern District of California Court also refers Apple and its vice president of finance Alex Roman to the local US attorney for investigation regarding criminal contempt. The Verge reports that Apple will appeal the order. Regarding Roman specifically, the order states he “outright lied under oath”. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney made the following Twitter post about the ruling and offered a bit of an olive branch to Apple. Key Links Game Industry Article Epic v. Apple Contempt order | DocumentCloud You can learn more about the ongoing lawsuit between Apple and Epic Games and this newest ruling in the video below.