The verdict is in.

 

The Apple vs. Epic trial is over and the verdict is in.

In case you don't remember, Epic Games decided that they wanted to keep all the Fortnite money they make on iOS for themselves instead of paying a portion (30%) to Apple. So, they broke the contract they had signed, got booted off the platform and then sued Apple in court.

During the whole trial, Epic tried to portray themselves as Robin Hood. They played up the narrative that they were taking on the evil monolith on behalf of the little guys. Claims that were completely demolished in court. The court papers proved that Epic was in it for themselves and no one else. The only upside for them at the time, was that the judge decided that Apple had to reinstate Fortnite on the iOS, although with no further updates and no cross-play. Right now it seems that the iOS version is five seasons behind and is hemorrhaging players.

So just the other day, U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers handed down the verdict. In the interest of transparency, I have not read the several hundred pages of legalese, I'm relying on what news outlets are reporting.

In a nutshell, Apple is now forced to allow app makers to inform their users about alternative payment methods and they have 90 days to implement this. Opinions are divided on whether they have to allow links or buttons that take people there, or if it is only information. Interestingly enough, this has never been that big of a deal. You could always, for example, subscribe to Netflix on your PC and then log into Netflix on your iPhone and Apple would get nothing. So this isn't that big of a deal.

Epic on the other hand has to pay Apple $12 million. Not that much for either company but there is more. The court has decided that Epic really did break the contract, so Apple can boot them off their platform permanently if they choose to do so. Due to the fact that Epic has also sued Google, Fortnite is also booted from the Play Store. They also failed to get their own exclusive store on the Apple platform which they wanted. They got nothing except a big bill.

Judge Rogers also stated that if Epic had simply reported Apple for suspected Anti-Trust violations, they would likely have won and there would have been nothing Apple could have done, but because of their contract breaking, manipulative videos, and other histrionics, they lost and are now in a bad position.

Of course, Epic has stated that they intend to appeal, but what good that could do, I have no idea. Just before posting I saw an article on The Verge and Epic has appealed.  This case already pulled all of Epic's dirty laundry out of the closet (and there was so much) so what they hope to gain from an appeal is beyond me.

Finally it seems that several news outlets are reporting this as either Apple losing or Epic winning. PC Gamer reported this as a big win for Epic, but then again, they have been sponsored by Epic on several occasions before... Do the math. Ultimately both companies lost, which is usually what happens when someone sets a fire and throws the extinguisher out the window.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great and safe week!