The first ruling for this legal battle was decided on the 10th of September. Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic games posted on Twitter claiming that Apple had lied which created tons of fuss around the gaming scene.

Epic's External Payment Update

Epic added a new patch to the mobile version of the game in August of 2020. With this patch, Epic added an external payment option through which players could buy Fortnite's in-game currency "V-Bucks". With this payment option, Apple would receive zero commission and Epic games would receive all the revenue. Some players found a way around it to just buy Fortnite accounts that have everything you need to play the game at the highest level.

Epic's Position On Digital Storefronts' Revenue Sharing Cut

Long before Fortnite was even released, the founder and CEO of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney, had a strong position against the 30% revenue sharing cut that digital storefronts like Steam, App Store, and Play Store take. Tim Sweeney argued that a revenue cut of 8% was more than enough for storefronts to generate profits. Tim Sweeny also stated that gaming console companies deserve the 30% cut because they spend enormous amounts on hardware and often sell them at a lower price than what it costs to produce them, in hopes of making a profit on revenue cuts from game sales.

Apple's Response

Apple removed Fortnite after finding the external payment method that Epic introduced. As stated by Apple, this violated the terms of service agreement that Epic agreed on. Along with Apple, the game was also removed from Google’s Play Store.

The War Begins

As soon as Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store, Epic filed a lawsuit against Apple, stating that Apple had limited Epic's ability to compete and, both Apple and Google are maintaining an unlawful monopoly. Along with the lawsuit Epic also initiated a PR campaign to convince players that Apple should allow Fortnite to perform such actions as external payment methods.

Recent Events – Tim Sweeny's Tweets

On the 10th of September, 2021, the court decided in favour of Apple. The decision concluded that Apple is not considered a monopoly and did not engage in antitrust behaviour. On the 22nd of September, Tim Sweeny posted a series of screenshots of emails on Twitter showing the conversation between him. In the tweets, Tim Sweeny claimed that Apple and claimed that Apple had lied. However, the game is still not available on either the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.