In September, the District Court of Northern California reached
a decision in the Epic Games vs Apple case that many have said is a
victory for neither party but nevertheless has some very
interesting consequences.
In August 2020, Epic Games brought a lawsuit against Apple
challenging some of its practices and policies relating to the iOS
App Store. One of the things alleged against Apple was that its
rules effectively mean it is operating an "illegal
monopoly". Epic argued that Apple's requirement that all
apps use the App Store purchase tool and its charging of 30%
commission for app sales is monopolistic.
The dispute began when Epic issued an update to its
Fortnite app on iOS and android that gave users an option
to buy V-bucks (Fortnite's virtual currency) directly
from Epic, allowing customers to circumvent the App Store for iOS
users and GooglePlay for Android users. Apple's reaction was to
delist Fortnite from the App Store and Google took similar action
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