The saga of the legal battle that sees Epic Games fight Apple in the attempt to bring Fortnite back to iOS has just gained another chapter.
Following a ruling by Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers of the Northern District of California, which found Apple in contempt of court in its attempts to block or hinder developers from implementing alternate payment systems on the iOS App Store, Epic submitted Fortnite for approval in the US.
Yesterday, we learned that said submission was blocked, and today we learned that Apple is refusing to act on it ” until after the Ninth Circuit rules on Apple’s pending request for a partial stay of the Contempt Order.”
This is part of a new filing by Epic Games in which the company asks Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers to deliver an order forcing Apple to promptly accept Fortnite’s submission and finding the iPhone’s manufacturer in contempt of court once again due to its violation of the earlier court order.
Epic argues that Fortnite’s submission is fully compliant with Apple’s guidelines, and Apple did not in any way imply that it isn’t, so the blocking of the app is a “blatant retaliation against Epic for challenging Apple’s anticompetitive behavior and exposing its lies to the Court.”
At the very least, it certainly appears that Apple is stalling for time in the hope that the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rules in its favor on the partial stay of Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers’ order.
Now, we’ll have to wait and see if the Judge will let that stand, or will file the injunction Epic Games is requesting to move things along. Her previous ruling certainly described Apple’s behavior very harshly, but it’s hard to predict what will happen next.
The battle between the two companies has been ongoing since 2020, and apparently we haven’t seen the last clash just yet. We’ll keep an eye on how the situation develops and keep you update as things happen.
In the meantime, Fortnite recently received a new season, fully themed after the popular Star Wars franchise, with new gameplay and plenty of skins inspired by the saga. The developers went as far as turning a meme into reality by creating a Darth Jar Jar skin.