Epic Games marches “On to Cupertino” after court win against Google

Epic Games received its Christmas present two weeks early, after it beat Google in a court battle on December 11 and the jury declared the Mountain View company a monopolist.

Now the CEO of Epic Games says Apple is next. Moments after a federal jury ruled that some of Google's actions violated U.S. antitrust law, Tim Sweeney posted this on X/Twitter: “Thank you! Head to Cupertino. »

In another post, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said an appeal against Apple is underway (via Android titles). An appeal is “pending for the Supreme Court to consider a hearing,” Sweeney said:

Of course, the battle with Google is by no means over, with Google confirming that it will appeal the verdict. Judge James Donato will have to decide what the conditions for Google's appeal are. The appeal is set to begin in January 2024 – a move that could easily move final decisions to spring/summer 2025, judging by the pace of Epic's other legal battle, the one against Apple. sales in the App Store ecosystem in 2022 generated $1.1 trillion, it's easy to see why any legal questions regarding the App Store ecosystem are vital to Apple.

In 2020, players of the ultra-popular game Fortnite discovered that they could make in-app purchases, such as digital coins (used in-game), at a lower price than usual via an external method, bypassing the system payment from Apple and avoiding the 30% tax which inflates the total amount.

Apple immediately shut down Fortnite and removed it from the App Store, and Epic Media filed a lawsuit. The game's developers have argued that the company constitutes a monopoly and induces anti-competitive practices. The rest is (court) history.