“Epic Games and Apple are at liberty to litigate against each other, but their dispute should not create havoc to bystanders,” she wrote.Įpic’s Unreal Engine is a suite of software used by developers to build 3-D games and other products. 28 hearing on Epic’s request for a preliminary injunction.Įpic breached its agreements with Apple by trying to make money on Fortnite purchases while accessing Apple’s platform for free, but didn’t breach any contracts related to Unreal Engine and developer tools, Rogers ruled.īy limiting Unreal Engine, “Apple has chosen to act severely,” hurting third-party developers who use Epic’s technology platform, Rogers said. Rogers said at a hearing earlier in the day that the case isn’t a “slam dunk” for either side and cautioned that her temporary restraining order won’t dictate the final outcome of the litigation. Epic didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 13 when Epic told customers it would begin offering a discounted direct purchase plan for items in Fortnite, and Apple then removed the game app, cutting off access for access for more than a billion iPhone and iPad customers.Īpple had no immediate comment on the ruling. The mixed ruling comes as Apple faces a backlash from some app developers who say its standard App Store fee of 30% and others policies are unfair and designed to benefit the iPhone maker’s own services.
