Epic, the company behind the wildly popular game Fortnite, has had a string of legal victories against Apple recently. Even so, the company is not letting go of its beef with the Cupertino giant, as per the recent statements by its CEO, Tim Sweeney, who cited the new "junk fees" imposed by Apple in Japan to withhold the Fortnite app from iOS devices within that jurisdiction.
Epic Boss Tim Sweeney: "Apple abuses its position between users and competitors to obstruct honest dealing between them"
Apple allowed third-party app stores to finally start operating in Japan last week, in accordance with the requirements imposed under the country's Smartphone Act. However, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney was quick to assert that the Fortnite app won't launch on iOS devices in Japan for the foreseeable future.
According to Sweeney, instead of leveling the proverbial playing field, Apple has imposed "a competition-crushing 21% junk fee on third-party in-app payments, and 15% for purchases made on the web," a practice that a federal court in the US recently denounced.
Additionally, Sweeney says that Apple has also imposed "a new 5% junk fee on all revenue from apps distributed by competing stores, and intend to surveil all transactions within them using a mandatory reporting API."
The CEO of Epic goes on to note:
"This is an egregious Apple imposition on distribution and payments they have no involvement with, and a practice the US courts already found to be illegal and upheld on appeal."
He then adds:
"Obviously, real competition won't happen, and consumers won't benefit, when Apple abuses its position between users and competitors to obstruct honest dealing between them."
Do note that Apple was recently compelled by a US court in the Epic case to allow access to external payment methods and to enable the return of Epic's Fortnite app to the App Store. A 2021 injunction had also called upon Apple to remove anti-steering barriers for third-party businesses, which the tech giant partially ignored.
On April 30, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found Apple guilty of willful violation of the injunction and, consequently, barred it from collecting any commission on all purchases made outside of the App Store.
Apple predictably appealed the ruling. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently agreed with the spirit of Judge Gonzalez's order, but found that the penalty imposed on Apple "went overboard in some respects," going on to note that "the commission prohibition is not an appropriately cabined civil contempt sanction."
"Accordingly, the April 30 Order is reversed in relevant part and remanded to the district court. We otherwise affirm the April 30 Order."
This situation has created a legal precedent, where consumers in other markets are also asking for similar privileges. For instance, in Australia, Epic recently asked the court to allow its apps to be sideloaded onto Apple devices without any associated commission.
Nonetheless, Apple is not in the clear just yet. The court has asked the tech giant to sit down with Epic and hash out an appropriate commission rate for external payments. Alternatively, the determination will be made by a competent court.
Critically, Apple still can't collect commissions on ex-App Store payments until the determination has been finalized.
Do note, however, that Epic appears to be in no mood to compromise, with the company's CEO, Tim Sweeney, recently noting in an interview that he "can't imagine any justification for a percentage of developer revenue being assessed here."
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
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