The Epic Games v. Apple court case kicked off on Monday, for what will likely be three weeks of intense arguments that could decide the future of mobile gaming. The row between Epic Games, the developer behind Fortnite, and tech giant Apple began last year after the hit battle royale title was booted off of Apple’s App Store. The reason behind that action was an update that Epic implemented in the game that circumvented a core rule for staying on the App Store — Apple gets 30% of any profits from in-app purchases. Epic didn’t take well to having its marquee title removed from the store, and decided that the only way to settle this was in court.
However, this lawsuit isn’t just about Epic. Instead, the company decided to make it about Apple’s practices in general. Depending on how this case plays out, it could be found that Apple’s policies are monopolistic, anticompetitive, and most importantly, unlawful. That’s only if the court sides with Epic. If the court sides with Apple, nothing changes and developers on the app store still have to fork over 30% of their profits from in-app purchases.
The trial is currently ongoing, having started at 8:30 AM PT, and it will wrap up today at 1:30 PM PT. For the next three weeks, the trial will be running at that time from Monday through Thursday. Due to its public nature, the trial is also open to absolutely anyone. To tune into the Epic Games v. Apple trial, follow this link to the presiding judge’s page. From there you’ll find a link for Zoom and the number for a teleconference.
There have been issues so far running the trial this way, though. For some reason, those attending the trial virtually have not had their microphones muted, and in most cases, those attending are teenagers or younger. The trial began with children chanting “free Fortnite” for around 20 minutes. In the time since then, Travis Scott music has blasted over opening arguments and racial epithets have been thrown around.
