Epic has lost a challenge made to a 2021 ruling that favored Apple.
Half logos for Epic Games and Apple.

A new report by Bloomberg sheds light on the latest defeat Epic Games has suffered in court in their legal battle against Apple. On Monday morning, Apple won an appeals court ruling that upholds its App Store's policies against an antitrust challenges brought about by Epic Games.

This ruling was made by the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and upholds an earlier decision made in 2021 by a lower-court judge. Both the initial ruling and this recent affirmation of said previous ruling reject assertations and claims made by Epic that Apple's marketplace policies violated federal law. Epic Games claims that the App Store violated federal law because Apple bans third-party marketplaces on its operating system.

To their credit, the appeal still upheld the only part of the initial ruling that went in Epic's favor. That part being that Apple is guilty of anti-steering practices (ie: preventing users from being directed to alternate payment methods) according to California state law.

This whole legal battle between Apple and Epic Games began in 2020. It was around August 2020 when Epic Games tried to be cheeky and released an update to Fortnite that circumvented the use of the Apple App Store and Google Play to purchase the in-game currency, V-Bucks. By bypassing these storefronts, Epic Games did not have to pay Apple and Google their 30% cut from transactions. Fortnite got kicked from the App Store. Epic Games then sued Apple. Epic Games also tried to rally their very young audience to their side with such cringe as their 1984-spoof and "FreeFortnite" social media campaign. Epic Games then lost hard in the initial ruling.

“There is a lively and important debate about the role played in our economy and democracy by online transaction platforms with market power,” the three-judge panel said. “Our job as a federal court of appeals, however, is not to resolve that debate — nor could we even attempt to do so. Instead, in this decision, we faithfully applied existing precedent to the facts.”

Apple hailed the outcome as a “resounding victory,” saying nine out of 10 claims were decided in its favor.

“The App Store continues to promote competition, drive innovation, and expand opportunity, and we’re proud of its profound contributions to both users and developers around the world,” the company said in an emailed statement. “We respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling on the one remaining claim under state law and are considering further review.

Epic had no immediate comment.​
Don't worry though, Tim "I justify giving an immature, loser billionaire $8 per month for a tiny png image because I'm stuck over 30 years in the past and holding a grudge because I was bullied in junior high or something" Sweeney took to Twitter to admit that they were mostly defeated yet again in court, while also being marginally happy about their tiny victory.