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Despite these losses, Sweeney views the battle as a necessary stand against monopolistic practices:

“If you have one monopoly gatekeeper who dictates what people are allowed to play, see, hear — and takes exorbitant fees from every transaction... we’re going to have a much less free world than the one that we grew up in.”

Apple’s Contempt Ruling and Appeal

Just last week, the court ruled that Apple must immediately allow U.S. developers to add external purchase links in their apps.

Apple is forbidden from charging commissions on those external transactions and cannot control the design of the links or buttons developers choose.

Read the full story on The Verge

However, Apple filed an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals this week.

If the appeal is successful, it could reinstate the very restrictions Epic fought to remove. For now, developers have scored a victory — one made possible by Epic’s persistence and deep pockets.

More details on MacRumors
Business Insider coverage via MSN

Fortnite’s Return and the Future of App Markets

Sweeney announced that Fortnite will return to the U.S. iOS App Store later this week — not via Apple’s U.S. developer program, which banned Epic, but through a Swedish developer account still under Epic’s control.

“I’d be very surprised if Apple decided to brave the geopolitical storm of blocking a major app from iOS,” said Sweeney. He added that Epic has already informed Apple of its intent to resubmit the game.

Epic isn’t stopping there. Later in 2025, the company plans to launch Epic Games Store Webshops, allowing developers to create their digital storefronts hosted by Epic.

Webshops will be free for developers earning under $1 million per app annually, while Epic will collect a 12% fee from larger developers.

A Broader Win for Developers

While Epic technically lost on the monopoly claim — the court did not find that Apple had violated antitrust laws — the company did force Apple to loosen its grip on App Store payment policies.

Sweeney believes the implications go far beyond one game or one company:

“We work on [smartphones]. We play on them. And our futures are going to be ever more connected there,” he said. “This fight is about the future of our digital lives.”