A federal judge has denied Epic Games’ bid for an emergency order seeking to have its megahit game “Fortnite” restored on Apple’s App Store.
In a ruling issued late Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said she supported part of Epic’s argument but dismissed its claims of “irreparable harm” saying Epic Games has not yet demonstrated it and the “current predicament appears of its own making”.
As a result Apple will not have to reinstate Fortnite to its app store, and the game’s newest season of content, launching tomorrow, requires an update that Apple will not allow.
An exception however was singled out by Rogers in regards to one of Epic’s other famed technologies – the gaming engine Unreal Engine which powers many games across the internet.
Rogers granted that portion of the game company’s request for a temporary restraining order, meaning Apple must not block it. Rogers cited the impact on third parties who rely on Unreal Engine and its updates provided through the app store.
“The record shows potential significant damage to both the Unreal Engine platform itself, and to the gaming industry generally, including on both third-party developers and gamers. The public context in which this injury arises differs significantly: not only has the underlying agreement not been breached, but the economy is in dire need of increasing avenues for creativity and innovation, not eliminating them. Epic Games and Apple are at liberty to litigate against each other, but their dispute should not create havoc to bystanders.”
Next in the case will be a hearing on a preliminary injunction on September 28th which will deal with more substantial arguments on the issues of antitrust and trade involved in the case.
In a statement today, Apple reiterated its claim that Fortnite’s ban could easily be resolved by Epic itself by simply complying with the App Store guidelines and continuing to operate while the case proceeds and says: “If Epic takes the steps the judge has recommended, we will gladly welcome Fortnite back onto iOS. We look forward to making our case to the court in September.”
Source: 7News
