Judge calls on Apple to resolve Fortnite app submission after ruling

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Judge calls on Apple to resolve Fortnite app submission after ruling

This illustration picture shows a person waiting for an update of Epic Games’ Fortnite on their smartphone in Los Angeles on August 14, 2020.

Chris Delmas | AFP | Getty Images

Apple must work out its latest issues with Epic Games — or else head back to court to prove it has a legal basis for delaying the restoration of the popular Fortnite game to its iOS App Store, a judge ordered on Monday.

Fortnite recently re-submitted its game but was blocked by Apple, Epic Games said Friday. Apple said in a statement on Friday that it did not remove Fortnite from alternative distribution marketplaces.

Following the rejection, Epic filed a motion to enforce an earlier injunction from the court against Apple.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers wrote in the Monday order that “Apple is fully capable of resolving this issue without further briefing or a hearing.”

If the companies do not resolve the current conflict on their own, the judge wrote, “the Apple official who is personally responsible for ensuring compliance shall personally appear” at a forthcoming hearing in the Northern District of California scheduled for May 27.

CNBC has reached out to Apple and Epic Games for comment.

Apple originally removed Fortnite from its app store in 2020, and terminated Epic Games’ U.S. app store account after the developer had used a direct payment technology in its game, which Apple did not allow.

That removal kicked off a legal dispute between Epic Games and Apple, which was originally decided in 2021, concerning the iPhone maker’s platform and the way it pays out to and limits app developers.

While Apple prevailed, the decision forced the company to implement limited changes to its linking-out policy under California law.

Rogers ruled in late April that Apple Vice President of Finance Alex Roman lied to the court about when Apple decided to collect a 27% fee on some purchases outside the App Store. Under her ruling in the case, it was expected that off-app purchases would not have a cut for Apple.

Apple said they would appeal.

Since that ruling, Spotify and

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Kindle have re-submitted their apps to allow for customer purchases outside of the App Store. Apple has already approved those apps.

CNBC’s Kif Leswing contributed to this article.

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