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Judge refuses Epic 's attempt to compel Apple to return Fortnite to the App Store.
The California judge in the legal skirmish between Epic Games and Apple has rejected Epic 's request that Apple be compelled to reintroduce Fortnite into the App Store, but has argued that Apple can not take action against the Epic Games developer accounts used to provide Unreal Engine developers with access to Apple devices.
The court's decision upheld its declaration at the end of August at a court hearing where Epic Games lawyers requested a temporary restraining order after Apple had told the Fortnite developer that they would boot the company off the App Store and terminate all their company accounts.
The judge acknowledged that [t]he preliminary injunctive relief is an exceptional measure rarely granted, and detailed that it was granted in part and refused Epic 's request in part, adding that Epic Games carries the responsibility of asking for such an exceptional relief.
From the file:
Epic Games has strong arguments regarding Apple’s exclusive distribution through the iOS App Store, and the in-app purchase (“IAP”) system through which Apple takes 30% of certain IAP payments. However, given the limited record, Epic Games has not sufficiently addressed Apple’s counter arguments. The equities, addressed in the temporary restraining order, remain the same.
This means that Fortnite will not return to the App Store until the litigation begins; the court filing this week stated that the two companies will be taken to litigation on 3 May 2021.
Both sides were aiming to win and forget their defeat in a mixed decision.
Epic Games is happy that Apple will continue to be barred from retaliating against Unreal Engine and our game development clients while the lawsuit continues. We will continue to grow for iOS and Mac under the security of the court, and we will explore all avenues to end Apple's anti-competitive conduct, said Epic Games spokesperson in a statement.
Our customers rely on the App Store being a secure and trustworthy place where all developers obey the same set of guidelines, said the Apple spokesperson to TechCrunch in an email statement.
We are thankful to the court for understanding that Epic 's acts were not in the best interests of its own consumers and that any issues they may have faced were in their own making when they violated their agreement. The App Store has been an economic miracle for twelve years, generating transformative business opportunities for both large and small developers. We are looking forward to sharing this legacy of creativity and dynamism with the court next year.
