Epic Games Pays Apple $6 Million as Ordered by Court

Epic Games today paid Apple $6,000,000 in royalties, ‌Epic Games‌ CEO Tim Sweeney said on Twitter. As part of the ruling in the ongoing Epic v. Apple legal battle, Epic was last week ordered by the court to pay 30 percent of the revenue that it collected from the Fortnite app using its illicit direct payment option.

fortnite apple featured
Back at the start of the dispute between Epic and Apple, Epic added a direct purchase option to the Fortnite app, skirting Apple's in-app purchase rules. This violation of Apple's App Store guidelines led Apple to pull Fortnite from the App Store, and directly after that, Epic filed its pre-planned lawsuit.


Though Apple removed Fortnite from the ‌App Store‌ shortly after Epic violated the in-app purchase rules, ‌Epic Games‌ was still able to collect payment from customers that had already installed the app and were actively using it. During the time period that the app was available prior to a Fortnite update that made it unusable, Fortnite made $12,167,719.

‌Epic Games‌ was forced to pay 30 percent of the $12 million total that was collected between August 2020 and October 2020, plus 30 percent of revenue collected from November 1, 2020 through the date of the judgment, in addition to interest, which is where the $6 million fee comes from.

In last week's ruling, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers determined that Apple did not have a mobile gaming monopoly, and the lawsuit largely went in Apple's favor. Apple has been ordered to allow developers to add "buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms," which will let developers provide payment options other than in-app purchase in their apps.

Apple lawyers called the verdict a "resounding victory" that validates the ‌App Store‌ business model, but ‌Epic Games‌ was unhappy with the outcome. In a tweet, Sweeney said that the ruling wasn't a "win for developers or for consumers" and that Epic would continue to "fight for fair competition among in-app payment methods and app stores for a billion consumers."

He also said that Fortnite will not be returning to the ‌App Store‌ in the near future. "Fortnite will return to the iOS ‌App Store‌ when and where Epic can offer in-app payment in fair competition with Apple in-app payment, passing along the savings to consumers," he wrote.

Over the weekend, ‌Epic Games‌ filed an appeal against the ruling, so the dispute between the two companies is far from over. Apple has yet to decide whether or not it wants to appeal portions of the ruling.

Popular Stories

apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
top stories 2025 07 12

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, iOS 26 Beta 3, and More

Saturday July 12, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
The iOS 26 public beta release is quickly approaching, while developers have recently gotten their hands on a third round of betas that has seen Apple continue to tweak features, design, and functionality. We're also continuing to hear rumors about the iPhone 17 lineup that is now just about right around the corner, while Apple's latest big-budget film appears to be taking off, so read on...

Top Rated Comments

Think|Different Avatar
50 months ago
Ugh, his tweets are so, so cringe.
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Misuteri Avatar
50 months ago
Pass the savings on to consumers? No Fortnite currency will cost the exact same and Epic will pocket the 30%.

There will never be a discount passed along to gamers….. ever.
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rictus007 Avatar
50 months ago

Pass the savings on to consumers? No Fortnite currency will cost the exact same and Epic will pocket the 30%.

There will never be a discount passed along to gamers….. ever.
This is not about the customers or small developers
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Putzytart Avatar
50 months ago
"Fortnite will return to the iOS App Store when and where Epic can offer in-app payment in fair competition with Apple in-app payment, passing along the savings to consumers,"

So when I go to the shop to buy a pair of shoes, I should be able to buy the shoes from the shop who are stocking the item for you, giving them a cut, or buy directly from you "in fair competition", cutting the shop out, even though I bought them from that shop and that shop has paid the overheads on stocking and selling your shoes for you. And then you brand it as "passing the savings along to consumers"

This Sweeney guy is off his head.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dreamweaver12 Avatar
50 months ago
This guy is a bigger whiny ***** than Jeff Bezos
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jamie0003 Avatar
50 months ago
So in other words, we will put fortnite back in the AppStore as soon as we can take 100% of the profits. What a scummy company…
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)