Fortnite will not return to Apple's App Store until the litigation with Epic Games is over. That emerges from a letter from Apple that Epic CEO Tim Sweeney posted on Twitter. However, it can take up to five years for the court proceedings to be concluded.
Fortnite was removed because Epic wanted to bypass Apple's payment system around a year ago in order to save the anti-competitive commission of up to 30 percent according to the developer. The result was the ongoing legal process, which recently received an initial verdict. In this Apple was obliged to give the app developers a reference to alternative payment methods. At the same time, the judge also confirmed that Epic had violated Apple's guidelines. So Apple was not obliged to add Fortnite back to the App Store.
Apple refuses to return
According to another letter published by Sweeney, after the verdict, Epic applied to Apple to reactivate the developer account on iOS in order to be able to offer Fortnite again in the App Store as soon as possible. Epic therefore assured that it would comply with the requirements in the future. It was the request that Apple declined in the letter published by Sweeney.
Accordingly, Apple refers to Sweeney's public statements shortly after the judgment. For example, he had announced that Fortnite would only return to the App Store when the payment systems were equal. Apple is now using these statements to justify the continued exclusion of Epic.
Late last night, Apple informed Epic that Fortnite will be blacklisted from the Apple ecosystem until the exhaustion of all court appeals, which could be as long as a 5-year process. pic.twitter.com/QCD7wogJef
& mdash; Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) September 22, 2021
The letter says: “In view of this and other statements since the court ruling as well as the dubious behavior of Epic in the past, Apple uses its discretion not to set up Epic's developer program account at the present time.” Apple wanted further inquiries therefore do not check until the judgment is final. And that could take up to five years, according to Sweeny. Fortnite would be left out for that long.
Renewed criticism of Apple's approach
Sweeny criticized the current decision again. On Twitter, he explains, among other things, that Fortnite should not be on a blacklist because a regulation was challenged that a court classified as illegal. This refers to the reference to alternative payment methods. Sweeny announces that Epic will keep fighting. According to media reports, Apple did not want to comment on the process.
Epic has already announced that it will appeal the latest verdict. Apple is still checking the corresponding option.