Apple–Epic row escalates

Epic Games is tying Fortnite’s next push on Apple devices to its Disney deal as the two companies reopen their fight over App Store rules. (bloomberg.com) Bloomberg reported on April 10 that Epic is counting on Disney-linked projects to revive Fortnite after a March cost-cutting plan that cut 1,000 jobs and targeted $500 million in savings. The report said Epic plans to shut down Fortnite Ballistic and Fortnite Festival Battle Stage on April 16, with Rocket Racing due to go offline in October. (bloomberg.com) The Apple side of the dispute is moving in court at the same time. TechCrunch reported on April 6 that Apple said it would ask the United States Supreme Court to review the latest App Store ruling over fees on purchases made outside apps. (techcrunch.com) That ruling grew out of Epic’s 2020 lawsuit after Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store when Epic added its own payment option inside the game. In an April 30, 2025 order, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said Apple had willfully violated a 2021 injunction meant to stop anticompetitive steering rules in the iPhone app market. (aoshearman.com) The fight is no longer only about whether Fortnite is listed in Apple’s store. It is also about whether developers can send iPhone users to pay on the web without Apple taking a commission or blocking the design of those links in the United States. (techcrunch.com) Disney entered the picture on February 7, 2024, when it said it would invest $1.5 billion for an equity stake in Epic Games and help build a games and entertainment universe connected to Fortnite. Disney said that project would let users play, watch, shop and engage with characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and Avatar. (thewaltdisneycompany.com) Epic described that Disney project as an open, persistent and social universe linked to Fortnite’s player base of more than 100 million active players and creators. That gives Epic a major media partner as it tries to prove Fortnite can still anchor new distribution and payment models beyond Apple’s standard terms. (epicgames.com) Apple has argued in court that its App Store rules protect user security and the integrity of the iPhone platform, while Epic has cast those same rules as gatekeeping that inflates fees and limits competition. Those positions have defined the case since Fortnite was kicked off Apple’s store in August 2020. (voiceofemirates.com) The immediate next step is legal as much as commercial: Apple is preparing its Supreme Court petition, and Epic is trying to turn Disney-backed Fortnite releases into leverage in the same distribution battle. Six years after the first showdown, Fortnite is still the product at the center of Apple’s app store war. (techcrunch.com)