Epic Games Gets Support From 35 US States In Their Antitrust Battle Against Apple

The Epic Games vs. Apple legal feud is far from over with both companies planning to appeal the presiding judge’s verdict on their big anti-monopoly lawsuit. Judge Gonzales-Rogers neither ruled in favor of both Epic and Apple on their respective lawsuits, which needless to say, didn’t sit well with both companies.

The presiding judge found Apple to be in violation of Unfair Competition laws in the State of the California but not of monopolizing the mobile app industry. In light of this, Apple was ordered to allow app developers to place alternative in-app payment systems to bypass the App Store thereby depriving Apple of their commission, effective December 2021. She, in turn, ruled against Epic Games in Apple’s breach of contract countersuit and ordered the company to pay Apple 30% of all revenues generated from the Fortnite iOS app since the direct payment button was added.

Epic, however, might have just gotten the edge they need to tip the scales in their favor as the U.S. Justice Department and attorneys general from 35 U.S. states filed arguments supporting Epic’s case, along with consumer advocates, academics, and even Microsoft. The group argues that Judge Gonzales-Rogers misappropriated the Sherman Act and that the error could “imperil effective antitrust enforcement,” especially when it comes to digital economy.

Apple will be filing a response this spring but says that they’re confident that the Epic Games appeal will fail.