Epic Games asks court to stop Apple ‘retaliation’ after App Store ban – News Block

Epic Games said late Friday that it asked a court to stop what it saw as a retaliation by Apple Inc against the creator of “Fortnite” after the iPhone maker terminated Epic Games’ account on its App Store.

Epic Games requested a preliminary injunction that would return their game to the App Store and restore their developer account. The filing was made in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

It argued that it is “likely irreparable harm to Epic Games” in the absence of a preliminary injunction and that “the balance of damages tilts sharply in Epic’s favour.”

The filing described the iPhone maker as a “monopolist” that maintains its monopolies by “explicitly prohibiting any competitive entry.”

Late last week, Apple terminated Epic Games’ account on its App Store amid a legal battle over the iPhone maker’s in-app payment guidelines and accusations that it constitutes a monopoly.

Apple said last week that its move won’t affect Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, a software tool trusted by hundreds of other app makers.

But the move meant that iPhone users would not be able to download “Fortnite” or other Epic titles through Apple’s App Store.

“This was a clear warning to any other developer who dares to challenge Apple’s monopolies: follow our rules or we will cut you off from a billion iOS consumers; challenge us and we will destroy your business,” Epic Games said in the presentation on Friday.

Apple pulled Epic Games after the popular game creator implemented a feature that allowed iPhone users to make in-app purchases directly, instead of using Apple’s in-app purchase system, which charges 30% commissions. %.

Apple had said it would allow “Fortnite” to return to the store if Epic removed the direct checkout feature. But Epic refused to do so, saying that complying with Apple’s request would be “hands-on with Apple maintaining its monopoly on in-app payments on iOS.”