A US court has issued a ruling preventing the blocking of the video game developer Epic Games by Apple and has rejected that its multiplayer Fortnite returns to the App Store, the official software platform for Apple devices.
The legal dispute between Epic Games and Apple began when the developer decided to implement its own direct payment system, external to Apple’s, which collects a 30 percent commission, which, according to the technology company, violates the rules of the App Store and which led to the removal of Fortnite from the platform.
Apple also announced last week that it will “terminate all developer accounts” for Epic and restrict its use of “all development tools for iOS and Mac” as of August 28.
In response to Apple’s decision, Epic Games filed a complaint in a Northern California district court demanding that Apple not take “adverse action” against Epic, such as deleting its developer accounts.
As for the block of Unreal Engine by Apple, the court has sentenced this Monday an order that prohibits Apple from removing Epic’s developer accounts or denying Unreal Engine updates.
“Apple and all persons active in or involved with Apple are temporarily restricted from taking adverse action against Epic Games with respect to restricting, suspending or terminating any Epic Games affiliate (…) from the Apple Developer Program, including Unreal Engine “, says the judge in the document.
However, the court has ruled against Epic Games’ attempt to restore Fortnite on the App Store with its own direct payment system.
In this sense, the US court has stated that the company “has not shown irreparable damage” and that “the current situation” with Fortnite “seems of its own creation.”
