Fortnite vs Apple: Epic Games could be headed towards a 'Victory Royale' after Tim Cook's testimony 

The Epic Games vs Apple case looks to be in favor of the Fortnite developers (Image via Sportskeeda)
The Epic Games vs Apple case looks to be in favor of the Fortnite developers (Image via Sportskeeda)

The Epic Games vs Apple court case hangs in favor of the Fortnite developer based on recent developments in the trial. Epic Games and Apple have engaged in a long drawn battle after Fortnite was removed from the App Store for bypassing Apple's payment method policies.

Epic Games, on the other hand, had stated that the 30% commission that Apple was levying on any in-app purchases on the App Store, was anti-competitive.

If this verdict does swing in Epic Games' favor, Apple will probably have to allow third party payments and/or charge a lower commission.


What does the Epic Games vs Apple case mean for the future of apps like Fortntie on the App Store?

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From the looks of it, Epic Games may be able to pull off a Victory Royale in this case. Apple CEO Tim Cook was called to the stands to testify during the hearing. He went on to state that the presence of freeware on the App Store brings more traffic to the developers in the first place.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, however, pointed out that Apple was earning a good amount of revenue from the App Store and did not face enough competition. She went on to say that the revenue stream seemed disproportionate. She further added that Apple was just benefitting from the developers holding on to their customer base on their apps, rather than doing anything constructive.

On being asked about giving people a cheaper alternative in gaming, Tim Cook responded by saying that customers have a lot of options. He said that customers had the choice of picking up any Android device. However, if they had to stick with the iPhone, they would have to comply with the preset privacy standards.

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While the privacy concerns are valid enough, Epic Games argued that Apple was using it as an excuse to keep third-party software away from the App Store. They went on to say that the operating system was a key player in terms of privacy. Apple could easily follow the type of operating systems on the Macs when it came to the iPhones as well.

That being said, this argument is done with and both parties have made their closing statements too. Now, the entire tech world waits patiently for the verdict. From the looks of it, if the verdict does swing in Epic Games' favor, it could really redefine the landscape for app developers.

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