Update (9/13/2021 1:00 PM EDT): According to a thread of post-trial tweets by Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, Epic plans to appeal its loss against Apple in a bid to overturn any or all of the rulings in the latter company's favor. The original story continues below.
Even though it was ordered to pay $12 million to Apple, a key decision has gone in Epic Games' favor during the court case between the two entertainment juggernauts. The legal battle originates from a system in Epic Games' beloved battle royale title Fortnite which allowed players to purchase in-game items directly from the game's store. This circumvented Apple's transaction fee, leading to the removal of the game from the Apple Store and eventually to a highly-publicized court case over Fortnite.
The Apple vs Epic Games court case has made headlines throughout the video game community, because the trial's verdict may determine the future of in-game microtransactions. Many claim that Apple holds a monopoly on the mobile gaming market, allowing the company to charge any transaction fee that they choose. However, Epic Games' attempts to avoid paying a transaction fee could also be considered strange, given that the company achieved so much success by using the Apple Store to distribute Fortnite. The clash of the two gaming titans began all the way back in August 2020, with legal proceedings taking place for an entire year. While the Fortnite vs Apple arguments concluded in May 2021, it has taken until now for a verdict to be reached regarding the case.
Despite ruling that Epic owes Apple $12 million, the Northern District of California has also ruled favorably for Epic Games in one count. As reported by iMore, the court ruled that Apple can no longer prevent game developers from using external links or payment methods to circumvent their own transaction system. This means that mobile games on the Apple Store will be free to charge players directly through the app, which is a much more profitable method than going through the Apple Store and paying the tech giant's fee. This unfavorable verdict for Apple has already resulted in a 3.5% drop in the company's stocks, according to CNBC Now on Twitter.
Alongside the surprising verdict which has damaged Apple's stock market numbers, the Apple vs Fortnite case also resulted in leaked information from both sides. Case documents from Epic Games' side have seemingly revealed that a sandbox mode is coming to Fortnite, though this information has not been confirmed by the developer. The leaked exhibit documents include a unique forested setting which is labeled as an "Open-World Simulation Sandbox Mode," and new weapons are also seemingly tied to the potentially upcoming game mode.
The Apple vs Epic Games case has made waves within the gaming industry, with the topic of microtransactions already being a divisive discussion among gamers. The favorable verdict for Epic Games means that all mobile game developers will be able to handle transactions directly, rather than paying a 30% sum to Apple. This decision has already harmed Apple's stock performance, and a lack of transaction fees will likely harm the company's bottom line in some capacity.
Source: Northern District of California, iMore, CNBC/Twitter (1, 2)