(In) Famous epic sports vs. Apple Legal Battle, which began five years ago, is filled with drama, twist and heavy legal fees. The saga has now reached a stunning chapter, and how apps and payments work on the iPhone have a huge twist. On April 30, 2025, an American federal judge ruled that Apple violated the 2021 court order in his ongoing battle with Fortnite’s producer epic Games. The ruling states that Apple has influenced the prohibition that was about to open the app store for maximum competition. Judge Yavon Gonzalez Rogers did not see the words – Apple said, “He tried to keep his attractive” Apple Tax “alive by introducing new fees and obstacles, and he has now referred to Federal Prosecutors for criminal contempt check to Apple.”

Apple vs epic game: how all this started

All this began in 2020 when the epic Games deliberately broke the rules of Apple by allowing Fortnite players to direct in-game purchases directly through the EPIC website-Apple’s in-app payment system and 30 percent of its commission ignored. Apple replied by kicking the Fortnite from the App Store, and Epic replied with a suit, accusing Apple of running a monopoly.

In 2021, the court partially biased with epic. Apple was ordered to tell developers about alternative payment options outside the app store. But Apple also introduced a new 27 percent fee on the purchase made through external links – a trick epic said that the alternative became useless. According to the recently published epic versus apple contempt order, Apple used some called “Skare Screen”, originally designed to remove users from clicking on the link. According to the judge, it went against both the original prohibition letter and Bhavna.

Fast forward to the present

Judge Rogers ruled that Apple’s behavior was not just a misunderstanding, it was a deliberate attempt to protect his mass profits. She pointed to internal Apple documents and emails, showing the message that some senior officials urged Apple to follow the court order, CEO Tim Cook biased with the finance team and approved 27 per cent workaround. The judge said that Apple continued its anti -antagative practices to “maintain the revenue stream of billions”, and this is nothing that the court will tolerate.

One of the most harmful parts of the order is Alex’s referral and its authorities, Alex Roman, to the US Justice for Possible Criminal contempt. Apple’s VP of Finance, Roman, testified under the oath of compliance stages of the company, a testimony that the judge stated that “misunderstanding and lump sum lie”.

A big shock for apple

Apple has long defended its app store policies, claiming that they are required to maintain user safety and maintain the quality of apps. But this decision says that Apple went far away, and that its efforts to levy 27 percent fees were purely benefits – not security or innovation.

However, Apple says it will comply with the court order, but it will also file an appeal. Apple, according to a report, “We strongly disagree with the decision. We will follow the court order and we will appeal.” RootsSo far, Apple is barred from collecting fees on purchases outside the apps, and it cannot prevent developers from guiding users from other payment methods-links, buttons, or even pop-up messages.

What happens to Fortnite?

For the epic games and its CEO Tim Sweeny, this is a very big win. Sweeni posted the moment on X (East Twitter) by posting: “No fee on web transactions. Game for Apple Tax.” In a follow -up post, he confirmed that Fortnite would return to the iOS app store in the US next week.

Fortnite has been missing from Apple devices since 2020. Currently, iOS users can only reach the gaming title through game-streaming platforms such as Nvidia GeForce Now or Xbox Cloud Gaming. Epic has planned to bring back the game as a native app, but there is also a twist here.

Epic plans to resume Fortnite on iOS, but Apple’s fees have to be completely bypassed. The company will direct the players to buy V-Bux (its in-game currency) on the Epic website, not within the app. Under the new rules, Apple cannot charge a commission or block this exercise.

Since the ruling applies only to the US, Fortanite will be restored at the app store in the country, but currently there is no time for other countries like India. However, Sweeni said that if the Apple gives the verdict globally, then the epic is ready to give up all the current and future cases.

Big picture

If this occurs on the ruling appeal, it can permanently change how app developers make money on iOS. Developers, at least in the US, will have more freedom to offer cheap prices by avoiding Apple’s fees, and users will have more options on how and where they pay.

It also puts pressure on apples internationally. Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) has already forced Apple to allow third -party app store and optional payment. Now that the American courts are saying similar things, Apple’s old app store model is being squeezed from both sides.