Epic Games: "Fortnite" with web purchase awaits Apple's approval
After Spotify and Amazon, Epic Games now also wants to adapt to the new app store options following a US ruling. But when will Apple get its way?
Fortnite in the App Store (symbolic image): Dispute dragged on for years.
(Image: Postmodern Studio / Shutterstock)
It was a major victory: Epic Games convinced a US judge that Apple was not adhering to the rules of opening up its App Store platform to other forms of payment. While Spotify and Amazon have already successfully submitted and received approval for their apps, which now allow users to buy content or subscriptions directly on the web (and therefore without commission for Apple, which the developers previously had to pay), Epic's big game "Fortnite", of all things, is missing. And nothing has happened here for several days.
Huge dispute for five years
"Fortnite" was submitted for Apple's App Review with a web purchase last Friday (May 9). But the app store operator doesn't seem to be rushing. Epic boss Tim Sweeney announced on Tuesday that there was "no news" about "Fortnite" for iOS. The iPhone application had already been kicked out of the App Store in 2020 because Epic had tried to integrate its own payment options, which is against Apple's rules. Epic later also decided to stop updating the Mac version.
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A major legal dispute developed between Epic and Apple across several continents. The preliminary climax was the decision by a judge in California that Apple was not allowed to participate in web purchases, i.e. was not allowed to collect a 27 percent commission. Apple had even "lied" to her, according to Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. The company is not allowed to earn money from off-app purchases.
Not simply waved through
It is unclear why Apple is not simply waving "Fortnite" through – This was actually expected by observers, who had expected Apple to react quickly due to the ruling. Spotify's app review was quickly concluded, while Amazon's Kindle app now also contains direct shopping links to the web for the first time.
Among other things, the ruling stipulates that Apple may not demand any statistics for off-app purchases or restrict links, as the company had previously done. Apple normally allows 90 percent of all apps – into the App Store within 24 hours, according to its information. The submission was followed by a weekend, but more days have passed since then.
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