Fortnite vs. Apple and Google: everything you need to know about Epic’s mobile app stores fight

An appeals court has upheld the status quo in Epic’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple, affirming a decision that was largely a victory for Apple. In a ruling delivered on Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that Apple’s closed App Store and security restrictions didn’t violate antitrust law but that Apple couldn’t maintain anti-steering rules that prevent users from learning about alternate payment options.

Apple spokesperson Marni Goldberg provided The Verge with the following statement:

Activision Blizzard and Riot Games at one point told Google they might launch their own mobile app stores, according to new documents filed in Epic’s antitrust lawsuit against the search giant. The details came to light as part of allegations about major deals signed with the two companies. Google allegedly agreed to pay Activision about $360 million over three years and Riot about $30 million for a one-year deal.

In one document, Google exec Karen Aviram Beatty is reporting back from a conversation with Activision Blizzard’s now-CFO Armin Zerza one month before the two companies signed the huge deal. “If this deal falls through, [Zerza] claims that they will launch their own mobile distribution platform (partnering with another “major mobile company” — presume Epic), double down with Amazon / Twitch (or MSFT) for Cloud / eSports [sic], and pull away from Stadia,” Beatty wrote (emphasis mine). While Zerza may have just been doing some hardline negotiating, Activision has not yet launched its own app store on mobile, so it seems the company was happy with how the deal eventually turned out.

Ever since Epic Games started its battle with Apple and Google over their app store fees, playing Fortnite on your mobile device has been more difficult, if not impossible. You could try it on iPhone via Nvidia’s GeForce Now but only if you got into a closed beta. But now, Epic Games has decided to partner with the company it spurned — Microsoft — and is putting Fortnite on pretty much anything with a screen for free via the Xbox Cloud Gaming service.

Fortnite is the first free-to-play title to join Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Microsoft says that all you’ll need to play (in the 26 countries where it’s available) is a Microsoft account and internet access for your iOS, iPadOS, Android, or Windows device. It works through your web browser (click here to start playing now), with touch controls as well as support for gamepads, and yes, you can even bring the game to Valve’s Steam Deck portable.

Epic Games has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to stop Google from removing independent music storefront Bandcamp from the Android app store — which Google has apparently threatened to do because Bandcamp is using its own billing system instead of paying Google an app store fee.

Bandcamp, which Epic acquired in March, has used its own billing system on Android since 2015, and was able to do so because of rules exempting digital music from having to use Google’s billing system, according to a blog post from Bandcamp co-founder and CEO Ethan Diamond. “However, Google is now modifying its rules to require Bandcamp (and other apps like it) to exclusively use Google Play Billing for payments for digital goods and services, and pay a revenue share to Google,” Diamond says.

Apple is still weighing whether to appeal last week’s Epic v. Apple antitrust ruling, the company said today. In a call with reporters, a representative said Apple was still evaluating its legal options and had not made a decision about its next steps. The position contrasts sharply with Epic, which announced yesterday that it intends to appeal.

Apple reiterated a position it took last week, casting the ruling as a near-total victory. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers dismissed nine of Epic’s 10 claims, including ones that would have required iOS to allow third-party app stores and payment processors. She ordered Epic to pay damages for breaching its developer contract. Apple also doesn’t have to return Epic’s hit game Fortnite to the iOS App Store, and it can choose to terminate other Epic-affiliated developer accounts.

If you’re wondering whether Epic Games is satisfied with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ decision to give iPhone and iPad developers a way around Apple’s 30 percent cut, the answer is most definitely no. Epic will appeal the court’s ruling in Epic v. Apple, a spokesperson confirmed to The Verge.

It’s not hard to imagine why: Epic lost on every other count. Apple will not be forced to allow users to sideload apps, or accept other app stores, or lower its fee below 30 percent.

The ruling is in on the Epic v. Apple trial. Epic won a major concession when it comes to allowing alternative in-app purchase options, but Apple won out on basically all other counts. The question now is: where does that leave Fortnite, which has been out of the iOS App Store since it first violated Apple’s rules by offering its own payment options in August 2020?

For the moment, it sounds like the game isn’t coming back right away. The judge did not say that Apple would be required to restore the game, and neither Apple nor Epic have indicated that it’ll return any time soon.

Apple says it won’t let Epic Games back in the App Store until they agree to “play by the same rules as everyone else.” Earlier today Epic asked Apple to reinstate its developer account so that it could re-release the iOS version of Fortnite in South Korea, which recently passed a bill forcing Apple and Google to allow alternate in-app payment systems.

Apple, however, maintains it’s under no obligation to let Epic in the App Store at all. “As we’ve said all along, we would welcome Epic’s return to the App Store if they agree to play by the same rules as everyone else,” an Apple spokesperson says in a statement to The Verge. “Epic has admitted to breach of contract and as of now, there’s no legitimate basis for the reinstatement of their developer account.”

Epic Games has asked Apple to reinstate its Fortnite developer account so it can release the game in South Korea, following the passage of a bill that will force Apple and Google to let apps use alternative payment systems.

“Epic has asked Apple to restore our Fortnite developer account,” Epic said in a tweet on the official Fortnite account. “Epic intends to re-release Fortnite on iOS in Korea offering both Epic payment and Apple payment side-by-side in compliance with the new Korean law.”

When you spend money in Apple’s App Store, the company generally takes a 30 percent cut — one that adds up to an estimated $19 billion per year. Apple’s currently in the fight of its life to prove to judges, government regulators, and its own developers that it deserves those dollars, but not everyone’s buying it anymore.

Over the past seven days alone, South Korea declared its disbelief on the global stage, passing a landmark bill that could keep Apple and Google from directly collecting their 30 percent cut, and may inspire other governments to do the same. Developers also expressed their rage at an Apple press release, where the company spun its agreement to settle a lawsuit for $100 million as a $100 million fund for developers — while quietly promising 30 million of those dollars to the lawyers and enacting no truly significant changes. The CEO of Hopscotch shared her story of how Apple’s App Store review team repeatedly gaslit her, insisting there was an issue with the well-liked kids coding app that didn’t actually exist. 

South Korea has passed a bill written to prevent major platform owners like Google and Apple from restricting app developers to built-in payment systems, The Wall Street Journal reports. The bill is now expected to be signed into law by President Moon Jae-in, whose party championed the legislation.

The law comes as a blow to Google and Apple who both require in-app purchases to flow only through their systems, instead of outside payment processors, allowing the tech giants to collect a 30 percent cut. If tech companies fail to comply with the new law, they could face fines of up to 3 percent of their South Korea revenue.

Google considered buying Epic Games as the companies sparred over Epic’s Fortnite Android app, according to newly unsealed court filings. Last night, Google lifted some of its redactions in Epic’s antitrust complaint against Google, which Epic amended and refiled last month. The complaint still omits many details about Google’s dealings with specific companies, but the new details reflect internal Google communications about competition on the Android platform.

Epic claims Google was threatened by its plans to sidestep Google’s official Play Store commission by distributing Fortnite through other channels, and in an unredacted segment, it quotes an internal Google document calling Epic’s plans a “contagion” threatening Google. Here’s Epic’s description of the situation:

Epic has renewed its fight against mobile platforms’ app store restrictions, filing an update to its antitrust case against Google. The filing adds mostly redacted details about Google’s alleged monopolistic behavior on Android, including banning Epic’s game Fortnite from the Google Play Store last year. The amended complaint comes soon after a judge officially linked the case with a recent multi-state lawsuit, which took aim at Google’s Play Store policies.

Epic’s complaint builds on information gleaned from government antitrust probes and documents produced since the original suit. One addition, for instance, includes details revealed last year about “the close relationship that Google maintains with Apple,” including an agreement to pay between $8 and $12 billion to be Apple’s default search provider. It also includes new information about Google’s supposed anti-competitive conduct, including its deals with phone makers and alternate app stores. Most of this information, however, has been sealed — leaving only hints about the claims that the case could hinge on.

Apple is trying to convince a judge that it’s not milking the App Store for all it’s worth, and today the company dropped some big numbers to help make its case. Apple claims that its App Store drove $400 billion worth of physical purchases in a single year in 2019, and that — unlike digital purchases and subscriptions — Apple doesn’t take a cent of that money.

That’s according to App Store boss and longtime Apple marketing exec Phil Schiller, who also testified that the company spends a staggering $50 million a year to throw its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) event. The company’s also building a new developer center at its Apple Loop headquarters in Cupertino, he says, though I didn’t catch how much the company’s investing in that. None of these are included in the App Store’s budget, Schiller testified.

Next week, Epic Games and Apple will appear in court for a long-anticipated legal battle. Epic argues that Apple unfairly kicked its hit game Fortnite off the App Store last year, exercising an illegal monopoly over the ubiquitous iOS platform. Apple claims Epic is trying to break the iOS platform’s vaunted safety and security for its own gain. Both parties have laid out how they expect to win their respective cases, and this week, they’ve provided near-final lists of the people they expect to call for testimony.

Apple and Epic both filed revised tentative witness lists on April 26th. The lists don’t guarantee every witness will be called, and crucially, they don’t tell us when we’ll see a given person on the stand. But with the closely watched trial kicking off on Monday — and likely running until the last week of May — they offer a good picture of each party’s planned strategy and what we can expect to see throughout the trial. An Apple spokesperson described its list as being a fairly reliable indicator of who it would call in the trial, while Epic said it could vary its strategy based on how the trial proceeds.

Eddy Cue pushed to bring iMessage to Android as early as 2013, according to a new deposition made public as part of the Epic case. Currently Apple’s senior VP of software and services, Cue wanted to devote a full team to iMessage support on Android, only to be overruled by other executives.

The line of questioning is likely to play a significant role in Epic’s antitrust lawsuit, which argues that iOS app store exclusivity represents an illegal use of market power. Epic has made clear in previous filings that it plans to make iMessage exclusivity part of that argument, citing a 2016 email from Phil Schiller that argues iMessage expansion “will hurt us more than help us.”

The Epic Games Store gives away free games every week — often good ones — and yet the company has never explained how it’s managed to dole out 749 million copies without going bankrupt. Until now. New documents published as part of the legal discovery process for Epic’s major antitrust lawsuit against Apple were published last week, and between those and a series of tweets from Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, we’re getting our best look yet at how the company’s not quite throwing billions of dollars away.

According to Apple’s “proposed findings of fact” document (credit to Eurogamer for spotting some of this over the weekend), Epic Games is losing cash — hundreds of millions of dollars in “minimum guarantees” it pays many developers to give away their games and constantly offer new ones to keep players coming back. That money also covers Epic’s infamous exclusivity deals, so it’s not clear how much goes to the free games alone.

An Australian judge has ruled that Epic’s lawsuit against Apple in Australia will be temporarily suspended as the two sides prepare for a trial in the US, Gizmodo Australia reported. Apple had asked for a permanent stay of the case in Australia, arguing that the US and Australia cases were very similar, and that the matter should be settled in the original jurisdiction of the United States.

The two companies are fighting over Epic’s battle royale game Fortnite, and the fees Apple charges. In August, Epic set up its own in-game payments system, effectively circumventing Apple’s App Store payments and avoiding the 30 percent surcharge Apple collects on App Store purchases. Apple then removed Fortnite from its iOS App Store for violating its rules. Epic fired back with an antitrust lawsuit seeking to establish Apple’s App Store as a monopoly and tried to rally Fortnite fans with a protest video mocking Apple’s iconic “1984” ad.

Apple knows that iMessage’s blue bubbles are a big barrier to people switching to Android, which is why the service has never appeared on Google’s mobile operating system. That’s according to depositions and emails from Apple employees, including some high-ranking executives, revealed in a court filing from Epic Games as part of its legal dispute with the iPhone manufacturer. 

Epic argues that Apple consciously tries to lock customers into its ecosystem of devices, and that iMessage is one of the key services helping it to do so. It cites comments made by Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue, senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi, and Apple Fellow Phil Schiller to support its argument. 

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.

Last night, both sides filed a document called a “proposed findings of fact,” essentially laying out every factual claim they’ll rely on in their arguments. The documents run more than 650 pages in total, giving a detailed roadmap of how each side sees the case — from the early days of the iPhone to Epic’s specific preparations for picking this fight with Apple. But the filings also bring the case into focus, raising three questions that will be central to the trial over the coming months.

Twenty years ago, Apple CEO Steve Jobs poached Ron Okamoto away from Adobe to become vice president of developer relations and later help build the App Store. Now, we’re learning he has retired — less than a couple months before Apple’s App Store is set to go on trial.

The eagle-eyed Mark Gurman at Bloomberg spotted that not only was Okamoto listed as a potential witness in that trial, but that court documents describe him as the former VP of worldwide developer relations, not the current one. Bloomberg is now reporting that he’s been replaced by Susan Prescott, a product marketing exec who started becoming one of the public faces of the company in 2015.

It’s hard to believe it’s only been seven months since Apple booted Fortnite off the App Store and Epic Games sprung its antitrust trap, but you won’t have to wait much longer before the behind-the-scenes legal machinations give way to courtroom drama — and, it seems, until Apple and Epic’s top executives take the stand.

In a legal filing Friday evening, Apple revealed that CEO Tim Cook, SVP Craig Federighi, and former marketing chief and current App Store boss Phil Schiller intend to testify live and in person in the courtroom, among many other tentative witnesses. Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney and VP Mark Rein should be there as well, plus Facebook’s VP of gaming, a Microsoft VP of Xbox business development, and quite a number of directors on both sides.

Epic Games on Wednesday expanded its worldwide legal fight against the dominant mobile app store operators with a new legal claim against Google in Australia. The claim accuses Google of “anti-competitive conduct breaches the Australian Consumer Law” and also accuses the search giant of violating the country’s Competition and Consumer Act of 2010.

The legal claim follows a similar action against Apple in Australia filed last November, and Epic’s legal fight against app stores now spans the European Union, the UK, and the US in addition to Australia.

Apple subpoenaed Valve in November as part of its ongoing litigation with Fortnite developer Epic Games, and it’s demanding that Valve provide extensive sales data for more than 400 games, according to a new filing (via PC Gamer).

The move comes amid Apple’s ongoing fight over Epic’s efforts to avoid paying iOS App Store fees. Apple argues that Valve’s data is necessary to calculate the size of the market of Epic’s “available distribution channels,” as Epic could theoretically offer its games through Steam in addition to other digital marketplaces. But the data is also immensely valuable in assessing the marketplace for games and apps — a space in which Apple’s iOS App Store continues to compete with Valve’s Steam marketplace.