Epic Games Asks Courts to Stop Apple’s Fortnite “Retaliation”

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last month (and if you have been, I wouldn’t blame you) you’re more than likely aware that there is currently a very ugly legal situation going on between Epic Games and Apple. In a very brief recap, this is (generally speaking) where we are at the moment:

• Epic Games attempted to bypass Apple’s 30% commission on transactions
• Apple responded by removing Fortnite from its IOS platform
• Epic Games issued legal action against Apple over ‘monopoly’ grounds
• Apple threatened to remove Unreal Engine support from its IOS platform unless Epic Games complied
• Early court proceedings haven’t looked too promising for Epic Games, but Apple was at least told that they couldn’t (for the moment) remove ‘Unreal Engine’ developer accounts

Following the latest update, however, it seems that Epic Games is again, at least in the short term, looking to force Apple to back down over its response. Specifically, by asking the court to stop Apple’s “retaliation” (Epic Games’ words) against the company specifically citing the removal of Fortnite from IOS.

Epic Games Battles Apple’s “Retaliation”

In a report via Eurogamer, Epic Games has confirmed that they’ve asked the court to, at least temporarily, order Apple to reinstate ‘Fortnite’ on their IOS platform.

“Today we asked the Court to stop Apple’s retaliation against Epic for daring to challenge its unlawful restrictions while our antitrust case proceeds. This is a necessary step to free consumers and developers from Apple’s costly, anti-competitive control.”

This announcement has come hot on the heels of Epic Games attempting to generate some more public backing for their case. Specifically, with the creation of the ‘FreeFortnite’ hashtag on social media last Friday.

What Do We Think?

Epic Games has certainly entered this legal arena swinging everything it can muster at Apple. With this latest move, however, they are attempting to convince the courts that Apple’s decision to remove Fortnite will cause them “irreparable harm”. A move that, at least in their initial hearings, didn’t seem to persuade the court that much.

In a nutshell though, this is a really messy affair. In many aspects, Epic Games is probably right in their accusations against Apple. There is, however, a big difference between what is right and what is legal. If they can, however, prove that Apple has ‘monopolized’ the storefront (and transactions) on their platform, it could prove to be a huge victory not only for them but for any company that develops games or apps for IOS!

What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!