Apple's Partial Setback in Legal Battle with Epic Games

Apple Gains Slight Advantage in Fee Dispute

In its ongoing legal tussle with Epic Games, Apple has made modest progress, which might impact the larger app development community. Recently, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals mostly upheld a prior ruling relating to the charges imposed by Apple on third-party payment systems. However, in a twist, the court reversed a previous decision that barred Apple from collecting commissions on these external transactions—one of Apple's central points of contention.

Background of the Legal Proceedings

In an earlier decision from 2021, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers dictated that Apple had to permit the use of third-party payment systems but stopped short of labeling Apple’s control over the App Store as monopolistic. Moving forward to May 2025, the judge ruled that Apple's 27 percent commission on external payments contravened her initial directive. Reacting to this, Apple quickly filed an urgent motion to appeal.

Impact on Fortnite and the Gaming Industry

Epic Games strategically pulled its massively popular game Fortnite from Apple's App Store and Google Play Store while litigation was underway. Now, Fortnite is available again on iOS devices, with its return to Android platforms just recently occurring.