Epic Games Declares Win, Announces Fortnite’s Return to iOS App Store Next Week, Offers to Drop All Legal Actions If Apple Agrees to No-Tax Ruling on Web Transactions

The ongoing conflict between Apple and Epic Games has reached a critical juncture, fueled by years of legal battles stemming from Epic’s introduction of an alternative payment system, which led to its ban from the App Store. Recent adjudications confirmed Apple’s breach of a 2021 injunction that mandated developers to provide users with options to pay via external links within the app. In a noteworthy development, Tim Sweeney, the CEO and founder of Epic Games, announced via X that Fortnite is poised to return to the iOS App Store next week, while also extending a proposal that may benefit both parties in the long run.

Proposed Legal Compromise: A Path Towards Resolution?

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers has presided over the Apple versus Epic Games legal showdown for five years, and her latest remarks imply that Apple is in “willful violation”of the injunction aimed at curtailing anti-competitive practices. The court stated, “Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated.” While Apple proposed a mechanism for developers to include in-app links directing users to external payment portals, it simultaneously implemented a commission fee ranging from 12% to 27% on these transactions.

In a decisive push, Epic Games asserted that Apple is in contempt of court for its failure to adhere to the prescribed fee structure. Despite Apple’s claims of full compliance, the judge sided with Epic, indicating a more significant legal balance is required.

To summarize: One, after trial, the Court found that Apple’s 30 percent commission “allowed it to reap supracompetitive operating margins”and was not tied to the value of its intellectual property, and thus, was anticompetitive. Apple’s response: charge a 27 percent commission (again tied to nothing) on off-app purchases, where it had previously charged nothing, and extend the commission for a period of seven days after the consumer linked-out of the app. Apple’s goal: maintain its anticompetitive revenue stream.

Two, the Court had prohibited Apple from denying developers the ability to communicate with, and direct consumers to, other purchasing mechanisms. Apple’s response: impose new barriers and new requirements to increase friction and increase breakage rates with full page “scare”screens, static URLs, and generic statements. Apple’s goal: to dissuade customer usage of alternative purchase opportunities and maintain its anticompetitive revenue stream.

In the end, Apple sought to maintain a revenue stream worth billions in direct defiance of this Court’s Injunction.

Judge Gonzalez-Rogers emphasized that the court “will not tolerate further delays, ”compelling Apple to permit developers to engage with consumers and facilitate transactions outside the app with a revised fee structure for these transactions.

Imposing any commission or any fee on purchases that consumers make outside an app, thereby eliminating the need for auditing, monitoring, or reporting on such transactions;

Restricting developers’ style, language, formatting, quantity, flow, or placement of external purchase links;

Limiting the use of buttons or calls to action related to outside purchases, or conditioning the content and style of these elements;

Excluding certain app categories or developers from accessing link features;

Interfering with consumers’ ability to navigate between apps freely or through neutral notifications regarding third-party sites;

Restricting a developer’s ability to use dynamic links directing consumers to specific product pages instead of generic links.

The case has been forwarded to the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California, allowing for the possibility of investigating whether actions for criminal contempt are warranted. On social media, Tim Sweeney communicated that Fortnite will return to the US iOS App Store soon. He introduced a peace proposal suggesting that Epic would cease all current and future litigation against Apple if it adheres to the court’s ruling on a friction-free and tax-free payment model globally.

We will return Fortnite to the US iOS App Store next week.

Epic puts forth a peace proposal: If Apple extends the court’s friction-free, Apple-tax-free framework worldwide, we’ll return Fortnite to the App Store worldwide and drop current and future litigation on the topic.https://t.co/bIRTePm0Tv

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 30, 2025

As the situation unfolds, it remains unclear whether Apple will contest the ruling or adapt its policies, potentially concluding a protracted legal feud while impacting its service revenue model. Currently, Apple’s Services division accounts for a significant share of its total earnings, and recognizing off-app payment methods could encourage developers to reconsider their payment strategies in the long term. Stay tuned for updates on this evolving case.

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