Apple Loses Appeal in Epic App Store Fight

Well, Apple is having a bad day, as we found out that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit denied their emergency request to stop the changes to its App Store. This ruling is the result of Epic Games’ legal fight with the corporate giant.

This comes at the end of a years-long battle, where Apple is now required to allow apps to point users toward payment platforms outside of its own. And to add insult to injury, they are no longer allowed to take a cut from any of those external purchases.

Apple’s Motion Denied

Back in May, Apple had asked the appeals court to pause that directive. But this week, a panel of judges denied that motion to stay, saying, “We are not persuaded that a stay is appropriate.”

CEO Tim Sweeney is clearly celebrating this legal victory, stating:

“Apple’s stay is denied by the 9th Circuit Court.”
“The long national nightmare of the Apple tax is ended.”

Yeah, we can say he sounds a bit happy here.

He also added:

“May next week’s [Worldwide Developers Conference] be the Apple-led celebration of freedom that developers and users have long deserved.”

From Fortnite to Freedom?

This battle started back in 2020 after Fortnite was pulled from Apple platforms when Epic attempted to give players methods to bypass Apple’s payment platform (like the bosses they are). That method would allow players to pay for in-game purchases directly to the Epic Store.

The issue and court battle were long and messy, but ultimately, Epic took the W with several key victories.

Apple no longer has a shield to stand behind when it comes to preserving their method of gaining extra money from the games hosted on their platform. Could this be the start of a new era—where corporate giants no longer have a sole monopoly over payment platforms and the games that live on them?