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SCOTUS shoots down Epic Games' bid to implement new App Store policy

Epic Games' legal battle against Apple took a hit by way of a recent Supreme Court ruling.

Donovan Erskine

August 9, 2023 11:40 AM

Epic Games

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Apple and Epic Games have a long-standing feud over the former’s App Store policy and the latter’s move to skirt around it. Back in 2021, a San Francisco judge issued an injunction that would force Apple to allow app developers to put links in their apps that let users pay on other platforms, circumventing the existing App Store policy. Apple took the matter to the Supreme Court of the United States, which has ruled in favor of the tech giant.

It was reported by Reuters earlier today that the Supreme Court had decided to block the 2021 injunction from Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, the judge that presided over the antitrust case. This marks a major blow to Epic Games' movement to affect change on the App Store, and a major win for Apple in its pursuit to maintain the status quo. The current App Store policy grants the iPhone maker 30 percent of in-app purchases, and the company reserves the right to remove applications that find ways to circumvent this rule. Had it been allowed to stand, the injunction would have forced Apple to allow developers to bypass this policy by adding links to third-party websites for payment.

Epic Games originally filed its antitrust lawsuit against Apple back in 2020, following Apple's decision to pull boot Fortnite from the App Store after the video game publisher added a store link in Fortnite’s mobile version that took players out of the App Store, allowing them to purchase V-Bucks without having to share those funds with Apple. Epic Games accused Apple of monopolistic business practices and the two sides have been at war ever since.

With the Supreme Court of the United States preventing the injunction from going into effect, Apple is free to continue running the App Store as it sees fit. Be sure to visit our Apple vs Epic Games topic page for a comprehensive history of the three-year feud between the two major companies.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_