Apple is demanding that Epic Games pay them over $73M for legal fees amid their ongoing dispute over App Store payment methods.
Years ago, Epic Games placed an alternate payment method that bypassed Apple’s in-app payment system into Fortnite Mobile and subsequently caused one of the biggest trial disputes in gaming history.
Epic Games filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Apple in 2020, which was recently denied trial by the US Supreme Court.
In a court order following the decision, Apple is demanding that Epic Games pay over $73M in legal fees and other costs.
Apple demands $73M from Epic Games amid dispute
In the court order, Apple issued a motion that the judge order Epic Games to pay $73,404,326 for legal fees and other costs due to the ongoing lawsuit.
Apple has also made changes to the app store, making it so that devs can use third-party payment methods — but they’ll still take a sizable portion of each purchase.
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Although he didn’t mention anything specifically, Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney shared his thoughts on the “latest Apple nonsense” on Twitter/X.
“The latest Apple nonsense highlights a basic principle: developers must be free to develop the best software they can. No platform maker should have the power to force them to develop intentionally bad software to protect the platform maker’s unjust profit stream,” he said.
Apple has asserted this right with respect to its own software. Apple should respect it as a basic developer right. The current trend has iOS becoming an increasingly awful psychological experiment on users, unchecked by competition as Google does the same with Android.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) January 17, 2024
“Apple has asserted this right with respect to its own software. Apple should respect it as a basic developer right. The current trend has iOS becoming an increasingly awful psychological experiment on users, unchecked by competition as Google does the same with Android.”
The case is ongoing, so it’s safe to say that this isn’t the last bit of news that will come from Apple vs Epic Games.