Epic Games

“The app store is not a service. The app store is a disservice to developers,” says Epic CEO Tim Sweeney in his latest interview with The Financial Times. In his never-ending battle against the so-called Apple App Store (and Google) monopoly, the owner of Fortnite tackles the Cupertino policy and calls Facebook an ally on the metaverse.

Epic Games announced on Monday a new app called “RealityScan,” which will let anyone use the iPhone camera to scan objects and turn them into high-fidelity 3D models. The app was developed using technologies from Capturing Reality, a company specializing in photogrammetry that was acquired by Epic in 2021.

Apple last year requested a delay in the App Store changes that were required as a result of the Epic Games vs. Apple ruling. We now have access to Apple’s filings with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on the case.

The Coalition for App Fairness (CAF) – which is primarily a voice for Epic Games, Spotify, and Tinder parent company Match in their antitrust fight with Apple over App Store commissions – has lost a second key figure.

In December of last year, Spotify’s legal officer Horacio Gutierrez left the company to join Disney. Today we’re learning that CAF executive director Meghan DiMuzio is also moving on …

The White House and 35 US states have filed amicus briefs in support of the Epic Games antitrust appeal against Apple.

All are essentially arguing that the original judge made a legal error in deciding how a key antitrust law applies to the Cupertino company …

A proposed new US antitrust law first proposed back in August of last year has progressed to committee stage – the next step toward becoming law. If it were passed, it would result in huge changes to the App Store.

It follows Apple being forced to allow app developers to choose third-party payment platforms in South Korea and the Netherlands – but the US bill would have a far greater impact …

A couple of days ago, a report showed that Microsoft tried to negotiate with Apple to release Xbox-exclusive games on the App Store. Now a new story reveals that the Redmond company wasn’t the only one trying to do so as Sony was also planning to bring PlayStation Now to mobile phones.

Epic’s battle with Apple, in which both sides claimed victory, is at least partly motivated by the developer’s metaverse ambitions, suggests a new report today. The term was used by Facebook, which even renamed the company to reflect its goals in this area.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said there’s a race to be the first metaverse company to get a billion users …

The battle between Epic Games and Apple continues. Earlier this month, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple must allow App Store developers to redirect users to other payment systems. The judge sided with Apple on all other claims, leading Apple to call the ruling a “resounding victory,” while Epic filed an appeal.

Now, Apple has reportedly denied Epic’s request to reinstate its developer account, which would allow it to bring Fortnite back to the App Store.

After a trial that lasted more than a year, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers finally issued her permanent injunction in the case of Apple vs. Epic Games.

While Apple will be forced to change some of the App Store guidelines, Epic Games has been ordered to pay Apple a 30% commission of all sales the company registered by bypassing the App Store’s in-app purchases system with Fortnite last year. Now Epic has done just that and paid Apple $6 million.

The official ruling from the Epic Games vs. Apple lawsuit in the US has been delivered today and one of Epic’s partners in the Coalition for App Fairness has shared its official statement on the matter. While Spotify is “pleased” with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ verdict when it comes to anti-competitive practices used by Apple, the streaming audio service says more legislation aimed at Apple “has never been more urgent.”

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has finally issued a permanent injunction regarding the Apple vs. Epic Games case, which began in August 2020 after Fortnite was removed from the App Store. However, although Apple has been required to allow alternative payment methods in the App Store, the company will not be forced to let Epic Games bring back Fortnite or other apps to its platforms.

We’re still awaiting a US ruling in the Epic Games antitrust case against Apple, but the games company has now received the go-ahead to take the same case to court in Australia.

Apple had successfully blocked legal proceedings in the country, arguing that the matter was already being decided in the US, but Epic has now managed to get that ruling overturned – at least, for now …

Because of the Epic v. Apple trial, we’ve been able to see tons of old emails from Apple showing their plans for the future around the time of the App Store. One email in particular, an executive team meeting agenda, details several seemingly unreleased products that the company had been discussing at one point or another. Two of those are iPods originally planned for the first half of 2008.

Spotify’s chief legal officer Horacio Gutierrez has said that he likes Apple products but considers the company a disingenuous bully.

Gutierrez made the remarks in an op-ed in the WSJ, and in an interview with The Verge …

With all the arguments completed, we’re now waiting for the judge’s Epic Games ruling in the antitrust trial against Apple. The consensus view among lawyers is that Apple did the better job overall in presenting its arguments – but the iPhone maker did come in for some close questioning by the judge, so the result is certainly not a foregone conclusion.

There are three possible outcomes in the case, and one of them might just be a better result for Apple than an outright win …

The Epic Games lawsuit took a fascinating turn this week when Apple suggested that Microsoft could be the real driver behind the antitrust case.

The Cupertino company has gone as far as asking for a Microsoft witness’s testimony to be discarded on the basis that Xbox exec Lori Wright is not a true third party …

As the Epic vs Apple trial continues, the latter has submitted a filing in the case to have the court make a ruling on Epic’s allegation that iOS is an essential facility. Apple believes the judgment should be granted in its favor as Epic hasn’t offered up evidence for the claim and provides two core reasons for why it should be dismissed.

The European Union is watching the Apple versus Epic Games trial closely, says the head of the EU’s competition watchdog, but its own investigations will proceed regardless of the outcome.

European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said that both of the EU’s antitrust investigations into Apple were progressing …

Apple Fellow Phil Schiller officially took the stand today in Apple’s legal battle against Epic Games. The Apple veteran focused heavily on the early days of the App Store, but also provided some interesting tidbits on what it costs to run WWDC, a new developer center coming to Apple Park, and more.