Epic Games v. Apple: the fight for the future of the App Store

After months of preparation, Epic Games will finally take on Apple in court in a trial that could fundamentally change the makeup of the App Store.

On May 3rd, Fortnite publisher Epic Games will finally have its day in court, forcing Apple to defend kicking Fortnite off the iOS App Store last year. Epic’s antitrust lawsuit is bigger than a single game; it’s a direct challenge to the App Store model, the most significant legal challenge Apple has faced since the Xerox days.

The fight dates back to August, when Epic added a direct payment mechanism to its hit battle royale game Fortnite in violation of Apple’s rules. The iPhone maker quickly removed the game from the App Store, and Epic responded shortly after with an antitrust lawsuit aiming to establish the App Store as a monopoly. The case will finally be brought to trial starting May 3rd.

The trial promises to deliver huge revelations about the inner workings of one of the biggest and most influential companies in the world, with testimony from Apple CEO Tim Cook, Craig Federighi, Phil Schiller, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, and more. We’ve already made some fascinating discoveries from documents published ahead of the trial, and there’s sure to be a lot more news ahead.

The Judge ordered Apple not block access to Unreal Engine. The court’s decision will favor a vast majority of iOS developers who are reliant on the technology

Many games are developed on Unreal tech. Apple’s decision to deny access to it would have affected all those games and developers.

“Apple has chosen to act severely, hurting third-party developers who use Epic’s technology platform.

“Epic Games and Apple are at liberty to litigate against each other, but their dispute should not create havoc to bystanders.”

Microsoft recently came out in support of Epic for the very same reason.

Developing a game on two different platforms, using different technology is not cost effective. Microsoft, being wise to this, picked Epic’s side in the battle. Losing out on Unreal Engine would cost them when developing titles and this is something they wanted to avoid.