Apple and Epic Games went to court when Epic Games tried to use a third-party payment system in their game “Fortnite”. Apple saw this and banned the game. The two company’s when to court and Epic Games WON, making it so that App Developers don’t have to use Apple’s payment system.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers decided that Apple should allow app developers to use third-party payment systems instead of using Apple’s one. The decision was first reported by The Verge on Twitter along with the sheet that specifically says that Apple must let app developers use third-party systems:
The judge has said that Apple kicking Fortnite for iOS off was lawful and valid. The game may only be back once Apple actually lets them. The chances of Apple letting them back onto the App Store after they made a huge chop of their revenue is very low.
What does this mean for the Apple Store in the near future?
Well, Apple will have lost a lot of money that came from the App Store. The only money they will get from it will be people buying games, people buying items in games using Apple’s payment system, and people creating games/apps. People won’t see much change in the App Store, apart from people creating third-party payment systems for applications. The ruling doesn’t say anything about the Epic Games Store is enabled on the App Store, leaving the App Store as the only app store on iOS. Apple has said that they find this as a win by saying this:
“Today the Court has affirmed what we’ve known all along: the App Store is not in violation of antitrust law. As the Court recognized ‘success is not illegal.’ Apple faces rigorous competition in every segment in which we do business, and we believe customers and developers choose us because our products and services are the best in the world,” the statement read. “We remain committed to ensuring the App Store is a safe and trusted marketplace that supports a thriving developer community and more than 2.1 million U.S. jobs, and where the rules apply equally to everyone.”
Apple has taken revenue ever since the Apple Store was released in 2008. If any app developer made money, Apple would take 30% of it. Now that Apple is being forced not to, maybe the store has just begun growing?