After months of preparation, Epic Games will finally take on Apple in court in a trial that could fundamentally change the makeup of the App Store. The fight dates back to August, when Epic added a direct payment mechanism to its hit battle royale game Fortnite in violation of Apple’s rules. The iPhone maker quickly removed the game from the App Store, and Epic responded shortly after with an antitrust lawsuit aiming to establish the App Store as a monopoly. The case will finally be brought to trial starting May 3rd.
The trial promises to deliver huge revelations about the inner workings of one of the biggest and most influential companies in the world, with testimony from Apple CEO Tim Cook, Craig Federighi, Phil Schiller, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, and more. We’ve already made some fascinating discoveries from documents published ahead of the trial, and there’s sure to be a lot more news ahead.
You can follow along with everything right here.
New App Store details from Phil Schiller testimony.
Tim Sweeney says his Epic lawsuits are all about freeing the youth:
Apple’s homework is due Monday no matter what, says judge
Why Epic’s lawsuit against Apple just won’t quit
Only 38 of 65,000 developers have applied for Apple’s outside payment links.
The judge in Epic v. Apple thinks Apple’s being shady about buttons and links
Epic says Fortnite is returning to EU iPads.
Apple and Epic are going back to court.
Apple files its response to Epic’s latest court accusations.
Epic asks judge to enforce the Apple App Store injunction
Apple kills Epic’s iOS game store plans over App Store criticism
Epic preps its challenge to Apple’s ‘bad-faith’ outside payments changes
Apple thought it dealt with Epic v. Apple — has it really?
Apple offers Epic “extremely generous” discount on $81,560,362 legal bill.
Apple’s App Store policies now let US developers link to outside payments
Supreme Court rejects Epic v. Apple antitrust case
Apple also wants the Supreme Court to rule on its antitrust case vs. Epic Games.
Epic Games asks the Supreme Court to hear its case against Apple’s App Store rules
Supreme Court says Apple can keep its App Store payment rules for now
Apple can delay App Store changes to file Supreme Court plea
Apple is going to ask the Supreme Court to hear its appeal of the ruling in Epic Games v. Apple.
Apple’s App Store can stay closed, but developers can link to outside payments, says appeals court
Epic largely lost to Apple, but 35 states are now backing its fight in a higher court
Epic pushes to overturn App Store ruling in opening appeal brief
Epic v. Apple ruling put on hold after appeals court grants a stay
Judge orders Apple to allow external payment options for App Store by December 9th, denying stay
Apple is appealing the Epic Games ruling it originally called a ‘resounding victory’
Apple won’t let Fortnite back on iOS until the Epic v. Apple verdict is final
Tim Cook tells Apple employees he’s ‘looking forward to moving forward’ after Epic ruling
What comes next for the App Store?
A comprehensive breakdown of the Epic v. Apple ruling
Apple and Epic both lost today
Judge says Apple may be ‘stretching the truth’ on Mac malware concerns
The Apple App Store: a brief history of major policy changes
The future of the App Store depends on the difference between a ‘button’ and an ‘external link’
Epic will appeal the Epic v. Apple decision
Will Fortnite return to iOS? Probably not any time soon
Epic v. Apple judge rules Fortnite’s Peely can appear naked in court
Eight things Apple could do to prove it actually cares about App Store users
Elon Musk calls Apple’s App Store fees a ‘de facto global tax on the Internet’
A courtroom artist’s view of the Epic v. Apple trial
Apple stayed on message while Epic filled out the record
Tim Sweeney concludes Epic v. Apple trial by repping fried chicken
Tim Cook’s Fortnite trial testimony was unexpectedly revealing
Tim Cook faces harsh questions about the App Store from judge in Fortnite trial
Apple wants users to trust iOS, but it doesn’t trust iOS users
The level of Mac malware is not acceptable, says Apple’s Craig Federighi at Epic trial
Apple asks court to rule iOS is not an ‘essential facility’
At the Epic trial, Phil Schiller got away clean
Apple’s Phil Schiller gives Epic iPhone testimony
Apple wants you to know it chose not to take a cut of $400 billion in physical goods
Apple said Roblox developers don’t make games, and now Roblox agrees
Epic fights Apple in court by playing Candy Crush
Apple needs to show iOS allows competition… while justifying locking it down
Epic v. Apple keeps coming back to the gap between ignorance and inconvenience
Epic and Apple are now fighting over a naked banana
Apple is using Itch.io’s ‘offensive and sexualized’ games as a cudgel against Epic
In Epic v Apple, everybody is losing at the game of defining games
After Xbox testimony, Apple tells Microsoft to put up or shut up
Epic needs to tarnish Apple’s App Store halo
Why the bad iPhone web app experience keeps coming up in Epic v. Apple
Internal emails reveal how badly Apple wanted to keep Netflix using in-app purchases
Epic v. Apple turns into Windows v. Xbox
Epic says there’s an App Store payment lockout — but Apple just sees friction
Tim Sweeney emailed Tim Cook personally to call for open app sales after WWDC in 2015
Epic pushed Xbox chief to open free multiplayer just ahead of Apple Fortnite battle
I watched the Epic v. Apple trial on Discord
Walmart’s unannounced cloud gaming service detailed in confidential Epic emails
Apple exec suggested cutting App Store commission to 20 percent as early as 2011
Epic spent at least $11.6 million on free games and gained 5 million new users in return
Apple antitrust trial kicks off with Tim Sweeney’s metaverse dreams
Fortnite made more than $9 billion in revenue in its first two years
Here are Apple’s and Epic’s full slideshows arguing why they should win at trial
Fortnite is planning skins for LeBron James and The Rock, documents show
The Epic Games v. Apple trial kicks off with kids screaming ‘free Fortnite’
Why Epic is burning its own cash to cook Apple
Epic-backed expert says Apple’s app store profit is as high as 78 percent
Microsoft’s app store changes crank up the Apple pressure
Next week’s Fortnite trial could upend Apple’s App Store model — even if Epic loses
Microsoft shakes up PC gaming by reducing Windows store cut to just 12 percent
Here’s who Apple and Epic are calling to testify in next week’s trial
Fortnite’s cash cow is PlayStation, not iOS, court documents reveal
Fortnite isn’t on Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming service because Epic won’t allow it
Eddy Cue wanted to bring iMessage to Android in 2013
Epic Games Store expands to carry Windows apps like Brave and Discord
Three reasons why Epic Games can give away $17.5 billion worth of games for free
Epic antitrust case versus Apple in Australia gets three-month stay
Apple says iMessage on Android ‘will hurt us more than help us’
Apple’s 20-year head of developer relations retires ahead of Epic App Store trial
Epic expands app store fight even further with new legal claim against Google in Australia
Apple lawyers are fighting for Steam sales data on hundreds of games
Epic Games brings Apple fight to the EU with new antitrust complaint
Apple won’t have to allow App Store alternatives on iOS after North Dakota bill fails
Epic Games Store now offers Spotify, signaling app store ambitions beyond just games
Apple’s biggest App Store critics are not impressed with its new fee cut for small developers
PSA: Epic will honor V-Bucks trapped on Apple platforms
Epic says Apple ‘has no rights to the fruits of Epic’s labor’ in latest filing
Epic judge permanently restrains Apple from blocking Unreal Engine, but won’t force Fortnite
Microsoft hits out at Apple with its new Windows app store policies
Epic’s decision to bypass Apple’s App Store policies were dishonest, says US judge
Fortnite: Save the World for Mac is shutting down because of Epic’s battle with Apple
Apple accuses Epic of ‘starting a fire and pouring gasoline on it’ in new Fortnite filing
Epic says ‘Sign In with Apple’ will keep working for Fortnite after all
Epic Games accounts won’t be able to use Apple’s sign-in system as soon as September 11th
Apple will seek damages from Epic Games for breach of App Store contract
Read Epic’s new, full argument why a court should force Apple to reinstate Fortnite
Why you can no longer install Fortnite on iOS
Hope you didn’t delete Fortnite or Infinity Blade because Apple just terminated Epic’s dev account
Fortnite on iOS already feels empty and dated
Fortnite is splitting into two different games because of Epic and Apple’s fight
Epic confirms Fortnite’s new season won’t be on iPhone, iPad, or Mac
Why Epic can’t afford to lose the Unreal Engine in its legal fight with Apple
Apple and Epic have to win over more than just a judge
Epic judge will protect Unreal Engine — but not Fortnite
‘Developers are fleeing the Unreal Engine,’ Epic tells court
Apple is holding the Unreal Engine hostage, Epic says in new motion
Read the emails between Epic and Apple that led to Fortnite’s App Store ban
Apple says Epic is ‘putting the entire App Store model at risk’
Fortnite teases Marvel-themed season, but iPhone and iPad players could miss out
Epic to host a #FreeFortnite tournament with anti-Apple prizes
Epic used its playbook for Fortnite events against Apple and Google
Apple fires back at Epic: ‘We won’t make an exception’
Epic says Apple threatens ‘catastrophic’ response in two weeks if Fortnite doesn’t comply with rules
Epic’s Fortnite standoff is putting Apple’s cash cow at risk
Apple stumbled into a war with the gaming industry, and the future of iOS is at stake
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says Apple fight is about ‘basic freedoms of all consumers and developers’
Apple has finally met its Fortnite match
Fortnite vs Apple vs Google: a brief and very incomplete timeline
Epic is suing Google over Fortnite’s removal from the Google Play Store
Epic rallies Fortnite players against Apple with a warning that they’ll miss the next season
Watch Epic’s Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite short mocking Apple right here
Epic will mock Apple’s most iconic ad as possible revenge for Fortnite’s App Store ban
Apple just kicked Fortnite off the App Store
Epic offers new direct payment in Fortnite on iOS and Android to get around app store fees
Apple’s App Store fees are ‘highway robbery,’ says House antitrust committee chair
Epic Games and Match Group join Spotify in protesting Apple’s App Store fees
EU opens Apple antitrust investigations into App Store and Apple Pay practices
Apple faces another EU antitrust complaint as App Store pressure grows
Epic gives in to Google and releases Fortnite on the Play Store
Why Amazon got out of the Apple App Store tax, and why other developers won’t
Amazon Prime Video now allows in-app rentals and purchases on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV
Google says it won’t grant Fortnite an exemption to the Play Store’s 30 percent cut
Apple to be formally investigated over Spotify’s antitrust complaint, says report
