Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, the visionary behind Fortnite, has waged a prolonged and expensive legal war against Apple over its App Store policies.
The battle has been ongoing since 2020. And it reached a major turning point last week when a judge ruled in favor of Epic’s claims that Apple violated a court order related to its anti-steering App Store rules.
Tim Sweeney has a Five-Year Legal Battle
Apple isn’t backing down — the company filed an appeal on May 5 that could determine the long-term impact of this ruling.
Epic’s hope is clear: to bring Fortnite back to iPhones across the United States.
“This is really one of the issues at the heart of our digital freedoms for the future,” said Sweeney. “We live our lives on our smartphones… So, the freedom for consumers and developers to do business together is of paramount importance.”
What Sparked the Clash: Anti-Steering and App Store Fees
At the heart of the dispute is Apple’s policy of restricting developers from steering users to alternative payment methods outside the App Store, where Apple collects up to 30% in commission fees.
