TheTechMedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/fortnite-the-tech-portal-e1597382682783.jpg 1024w, https://TheTechMedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/fortnite-the-tech-portal-300×194.jpg 300w, https://TheTechMedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/fortnite-the-tech-portal-768×497.jpg 768w, https://TheTechMedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/fortnite-the-tech-portal-800×518.jpg 800w, https://TheTechMedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/fortnite-the-tech-portal-1160×751.jpg 1160w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>Epic Games and Apple have been in a heated battle after the gaming company decided to introduce an in app payment gateway that circumvented Apple’s App Store commission, leading to the tech giant removing Fortnite from the platform. Over the course of this war, both companies have had some wins and some losses. Today’s announcement will definitely count as a loss for Epic, as its request to force Apple to reinstate the game on App Store has been denied by a judge, saying that “Epic Games has not sufficiently addressed Apple’s counter arguments.”
However, today’s decision was a mixed bag, and while it is in essence, a loss, that does not mean that Epic did not gain anything. The judge, while denying the company’s reinstatement request, added that Apple cannot take action against the Epic Games developer accounts, mostly because it operates the Unreal Engine. This is in line with a decision announced in late August, when Apple was forced to unblock Epic Games’ Unreal Engine and its ecosystem, as it affected third party developers.
With today’s decision, it’s become clear that Fortnite will not return to the App Store till the start of the trail between the two companies. Thus, if you are an Apple user and love the game, you might have to wait till summer next year to play it on your device, if ever.
Both companies decided to focus more on their wins and less on their losses, which is not really surprising.
“Epic Games is grateful that Apple will continue to be barred from retaliating against Unreal Engine and our game development customers as the litigation continues,” the Epic spokesperson said.
An Apple spokesperson said, “We’re grateful the court recognized that Epic’s actions were not in the best interests of its own customers and that any problems they may have encountered were of their own making when they breached their agreement.”
