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Judge Allows Apple to Continue to Block ‘Fortnite’ From App Store



Fortnite

Fortnite

Apple can continue to block Fortnite from its app store as it battles in court with developer Epic Games, a federal judge in California said on Friday afternoon.

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Apple banned Fortnite from the App Store in August after Epic introduced a new payment system that circumvented the iPhone maker’s process, in which it takes a 30 percent cut of in-app purchases. Epic, which then sued Apple over the practice, had asked District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to grant a preliminary injunction that would make Fortnite available once again in the App Store while the two companies await trial, which is set to kick off May 3.

“Having reviewed the limited record, while Epic Games raises serious questions on the merits, the Court cannot conclude that Epic Games will likely succeed on the merits of those claims,” Gonzalez Rogers wrote in her decision. “Too many unknowns remain.”

Though

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Judge Allows Apple to Continue to Block ‘Fortnite’ From App Store

“Having reviewed the limited record, while Epic Games raises serious questions on the merits, the Court cannot conclude that Epic Games will likely succeed on the merits of those claims,” Gonzalez Rogers wrote in her decision. “Too many unknowns remain.”

Though Fortnite players will not be able to download or update the game on Apple devices, Epic’s other product, software tool Unreal Engine, can continue to be distributed via the Apple Store, Gonzalez Rogers ruled. Unreal Engine is used by Hollywood studios and many game developers who also distribute their apps via the App Store. Gonzalez Rogers found that banning the graphics engine from the App Store “could have significant irreparable harm to Unreal Engine and to Epic Games and its affiliates.”

The antitrust showdown between Apple and Epic is expected have a ripple effect in the tech world. It pits the owner of one of the most powerful mobile

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Microsoft app fairness principles try to woo devs into its own Store

App store businesses are a hot topic these days, with governments on both sides of the pond and across the world trying to put Big Tech under a microscope. Apple and Google are, of course, the poster boys for app stores but they are hardly the only big ones out there. There’s Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox, for example, and even Microsoft has its own Windows app store. The latter is now being promoted as the more open app store by codifying what almost all developers already know: you don’t have to be on the Microsoft Store.

Microsoft boasts about Windows, specifically Windows 10, being an open platform, but that is more a product of history than a philosophical choice. Windows was born at a time when app stores didn’t exist, let alone a profitable business model around it. Microsoft didn’t really have much of a choice but to keep Windows

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Judge Backs Apple, Keeping Fortnite Off App Store Until After Trial

A federal judge sided with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Friday, handing the company a win in its ongoing battle against Fortnite creator Epic Games. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Northern District of California said that Apple could continue to ban Fortnite from the App Store because Epic violated the terms of its contract with Apple. 

The judge noted that there were venues for companies to resolve contract disputes, citing a “significant public interest” in ensuring that parties abided by the terms of their agreements.

A gavel near a laptop with piles of 100 dollar bills and a scale nearby.

Image source: Getty Images.

It was only a partial victory for the iPhone maker, however, as the court forbade Apple from banning the Unreal Engine, Epic’s popular tool used by developers as a framework for creating games. Rogers said there was “potential significant damage to both developers and gamers” if the judge allowed the move.

This is the latest salvo in an ongoing feud between Apple and

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Antitrust investigation dubs App Store a monopoly, Microsoft adopts ‘app fairness’ rules, pandemic boosts Q3 app revenues

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the TechCrunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through it all.

The app industry is as hot as ever, with a record 204 billion downloads and $120 billion in consumer spending in 2019. People are now spending three hours and 40 minutes per day using apps, rivaling TV. Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours — they’re a big business. In 2019, mobile-first companies had a combined $544 billion valuation, 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus.

In this series, we help you keep up with the latest news from the world of apps, delivered on a weekly basis.

Apple declared monopoly by U.S. House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust

Apple was one of the four big tech companies the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust declared as having enjoyed monopoly power

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Judge rules Apple can continue blocking Fortnite from the App Store



a hand holding a cellphone: A teenage girl plays the video game Fortnite, on an Apple iPhone X in Billerica, Massachusetts, USA, 24 August 2020.

© CJ Gunther/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A teenage girl plays the video game Fortnite, on an Apple iPhone X in Billerica, Massachusetts, USA, 24 August 2020.

A federal judge has ruled that Apple can continue to block the hit video game Fortnite from its app store as the iPhone maker defends a landmark antitrust lawsuit by the game’s publisher, Epic Games.

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The ruling means that, for the foreseeable future, millions of Fortnite players who access the game on iPhones, iPads and other Apple devices will remain unable to play the game’s latest content or download app updates.

Epic Games sued Apple in August after Apple removed Fortnite from its platform. Apple blamed Epic for deliberately breaching the terms of its developer contract when Epic sought to circumvent Apple’s in-app payment system — using a software update that encouraged Fortnite players to buy in-game currency directly from Epic Games.

The move meant

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‘Fortnite’ Will Remain Out of Apple’s App Store Ahead of Trial, Judge Rules

A California federal judge said

Apple Inc.


AAPL 1.74%

doesn’t have to return the popular videogame “Fortnite” to its App Store but maintained that the tech giant can’t block the game’s creator from accessing its critical software development tools.

The ruling Friday on Epic Games Inc.’s motion for a preliminary injunction yielded a split decision similar to Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’s order in August.

“Given the novelty and the magnitude of the issues, as well as the debate in both the academic community and society at large, the Court is unwilling to tilt the playing field in favor of one party or the other with an early ruling of likelihood of success on the merits,” Judge Gonzalez Rogers wrote in her ruling.

The decision sets the stage for a May bench trial. Analysts estimate that Apple’s App Store generates at least $15 billion in annual sales for the Cupertino, Calif.,

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Epic loses court bid to force Apple to reinstate Fortnite in the App Store

A federal judge denied a request from Epic Games to force Apple to reinstate Epic’s Fortnite game on the App Store while awaiting the results of an antitrust lawsuit.

U.S. District Court judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers also ruled in favor of Epic, permanently granting a prior temporary order that stops Apple from retaliating against Epic by removing support for Epic’s Unreal Engine.

The antitrust lawsuit began August 13 when Epic announced a discount policy and direct payment mechanism for Fortnite that Apple and Google said violated their respective terms of service. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has long argued that the 30% commissions the big companies take of every game transaction is unfair and that Epic should be able to directly sell its in-app goods to players for lower prices. Epic only charges 12% as a fee for developers in its own store.

After Epic modified the iOS version of Fortnite

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Apple Doesn’t Have To Reinstate Fortnite To The App Store, Judge Rules

Topline

A judge ruled Friday that Apple doesn’t have to allow Fortnite back in the App Store while its developer, Epic Games, sues the tech giant—an initial victory for Apple as the high-stakes legal battle over the App Store unfolds.

Key Facts

Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store in August after Epic Games intentionally circumvented Apple’s mandatory 30% fee, claiming in a lawsuit that Apple’s App Store policies are anticompetitive.

U.S. District Judge Yvonnne Gonzalez Rogers wasn’t convinced that Fortnite should be allowed on the App Store while it flouts Apple’s rules. “Epic Games cannot simply exclaim ‘monopoly’ to rewrite agreements giving itself unilateral benefit,” she said.

Epic Games did notch a victory,

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US judge rules Apple could bar Epic Games’s ‘Fortnite’ from App Store

  • A US judge in California ruled Friday that Apple could bar Epic Games’s “Fortnite” game from its App Store, but the tech company must not harm Epic’s developer tools business.
  • “The Court maintains its findings from the temporary restraining order and hereby grants in part and denies in part Epic Games’ motion for a preliminary injunction,” District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled.
  • Last month, Epic Games had filed for a preliminary injunction that would put its game back in the App Store and restore its developer account after Apple terminated Epic Games’ account on its App Store.
  • Epic sued Apple in August alleging anticompetitive behavior. The lawsuit came after Epic rolled out its own payment system in the popular Fortnite video game.
  • Apple does not allow such alternative payment systems and removed Fortnite from the App Store and threatened to terminate Epic’s developer accounts, which would have affected Epic’s other
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