Judge could force Apple to put "Fortnite" in the US app store if necessary
The thriller between Apple and Epic Games continues. After Apple refused to allow "Fortnite" in the US App Store, the judge has now responded.
"Fortnite" and game controllers: iOS users in the USA have not been able to shoot for years.
(Image: Shutterstock.com/SolidMaks)
After Apple still refused to allow “Fortnite” including “Off App” web payment in the US App Store and Epic Games filed a complaint against this in court, the judge responsible has now issued an order. In the letter, which Apple's legal counsel (as well as that of Epic Games) received on Monday, it becomes clear that Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California seems to be getting fed up. She asks why Apple is failing to comply with her order. The iPhone company is “fully capable of resolving the matter without further briefing or a hearing”.
Spotify and Kindle were approved
Epic Games had submitted a version of “Fortnite” with said integrated web payment to the App Review via its subsidiary Epic Games Sweden. This was not allowed through as Apple first wants to wait for a decision from the competent court, to which the company had filed an appeal against Gonzalez Rogers' order. According to the judge, Apple is not entitled to any shareholdings in web buyers of apps from – but this is precisely why Apple removed “Fortnite” from the App Store years ago and Epic Games filed a lawsuit against it. Now Apple is to allow web purchases in the USA without any notice – and warnings, such as those still displayed in the EU, are explicitly no longer permitted. Providers such as Spotify and Amazon Kindle have already reacted and redesigned their apps accordingly – Apple let them through.
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In the case of Epic Games, however, Apple is putting up a good fight: the company argues, among other things, that Epic Games no longer has a valid developer account for the USA. The company is therefore using Epic Games Sweden. As web payment was built into the app submitted there, its non-approval meant that all other versions of “Fortnite” were also initially blocked – including those for alternative app marketplaces such as the Epic Games Store for iOS. Apple told Epic Games that the company could submit the app without the web payment intended for the USA.
Cue or Schiller in court please
In her order, Gonzalez Rogers has now called on Apple to implement the approval of “Fortnite”. However, if both parties fail to comply, the “personally responsible” Apple official – presumably App Store boss Phil Schiller or head of services Eddy Cue – will have to appear in person before the judge on May 27, with a hearing already scheduled for 9 a.m. in Oakland, California.
The order is considered unusual because it directly affects such high-ranking managers. The question now is how Apple and its lawyers will react. To settle the dispute, “Fortnite” could be accepted – but this would then contradict the App Store rules. It is not yet clear when Apple's appeal against Gonzalez Rogers' decision will be heard.
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