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Epic Games v. Apple: the fight for the future of the App Store

After months of preparation, Epic Games will finally take on Apple in court in a trial that could fundamentally change the makeup of the App Store. The fight dates back to August, when Epic added a direct payment mechanism to its hit battle royale game Fortnite in violation of Apple&rsquo;s rules. The iPhone maker quickly removed the game from the App Store, and Epic responded shortly after with an antitrust lawsuit aiming to establish the App Store as a monopoly. The case will finally be brought to trial starting May 3rd.
The trial promises to deliver huge revelations about the inner workings of one of the biggest and most influential companies in the world, with testimony from Apple CEO Tim Cook, Craig Federighi, Phil Schiller, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, and more. We&rsquo;ve already made some fascinating discoveries from documents published ahead of the trial, and there&rsquo;s sure to be a lot more news ahead.
You can follow along with everything right here.

Tim Sweeney on the future of Fortnite after another win over Apple

Epic says Fortnite is coming back to iOS in Australia

Spotify is seeing increased conversions to Premium subs on iOS.

Fortnite is finally back on US iPhones

A big Hey update following the Epic v. Apple ruling.

“Apple is fully capable of resolving this issue without further briefing or a hearing.”

Epic asks judge to make Apple let Fortnite back on the US App Store

Fortnite isn’t available on iOS right now, but why?

Tim Sweeney is mocking Apple for letting Fortnite fakes into the App Store

Epic submitted a new version of Fortnite to Apple.

Epic submitted Fortnite to Apple.

Epic is sweetening the deal.

Apple asks court to halt App Store rule changes while it appeals

Epic will use an EU account to bring Fortnite back to the US App Store

Apple files appeal to wrest back control of its App Store

Spotify’s iPhone app now lets you pay how you want

Spotify already has an app ready to test Apple’s new rules

Epic is offering developers an alternative to Apple’s in-app purchases

Spotify: “This landmark court ruling is a victory for developers everywhere.”

Apple confirms it will appeal the App Store order.

Apple exec ‘outright lied’ during Epic trial

Epic says Fortnite is coming back to iOS in the US

A judge just blew up Apple’s control of the App Store

New App Store details from Phil Schiller testimony.

Tim Sweeney says his Epic lawsuits are all about freeing the youth:

Apple’s homework is due Monday no matter what, says judge

Why Epic’s lawsuit against Apple just won’t quit

Only 38 of 65,000 developers have applied for Apple’s outside payment links.

The judge in Epic v. Apple thinks Apple’s being shady about buttons and links

Epic says Fortnite is returning to EU iPads.

Apple and Epic are going back to court.

Apple files its response to Epic’s latest court accusations.

Epic asks judge to enforce the Apple App Store injunction

Apple kills Epic’s iOS game store plans over App Store criticism

Epic preps its challenge to Apple’s ‘bad-faith’ outside payments changes

Apple thought it dealt with Epic v. Apple — has it really?

Apple offers Epic “extremely generous” discount on $81,560,362 legal bill.

Apple’s App Store policies now let US developers link to outside payments

Supreme Court rejects Epic v. Apple antitrust case

Apple also wants the Supreme Court to rule on its antitrust case vs. Epic Games.

Epic Games asks the Supreme Court to hear its case against Apple’s App Store rules

Supreme Court says Apple can keep its App Store payment rules for now

Apple can delay App Store changes to file Supreme Court plea

Apple is going to ask the Supreme Court to hear its appeal of the ruling in Epic Games v. Apple.

Apple’s App Store can stay closed, but developers can link to outside payments, says appeals court

Epic largely lost to Apple, but 35 states are now backing its fight in a higher court

Epic pushes to overturn App Store ruling in opening appeal brief

Epic v. Apple ruling put on hold after appeals court grants a stay

Judge orders Apple to allow external payment options for App Store by December 9th, denying stay

Apple is appealing the Epic Games ruling it originally called a ‘resounding victory’

Apple won’t let Fortnite back on iOS until the Epic v. Apple verdict is final

Tim Cook tells Apple employees he’s ‘looking forward to moving forward’ after Epic ruling

What comes next for the App Store?

A comprehensive breakdown of the Epic v. Apple ruling

Apple and Epic both lost today

Judge says Apple may be ‘stretching the truth’ on Mac malware concerns

The Apple App Store: a brief history of major policy changes

The future of the App Store depends on the difference between a ‘button’ and an ‘external link’

Epic will appeal the Epic v. Apple decision

Will Fortnite return to iOS? Probably not any time soon

Epic v. Apple judge rules Fortnite’s Peely can appear naked in court

Eight things Apple could do to prove it actually cares about App Store users

Elon Musk calls Apple’s App Store fees a ‘de facto global tax on the Internet’

A courtroom artist’s view of the Epic v. Apple trial

Apple stayed on message while Epic filled out the record

Tim Sweeney concludes Epic v. Apple trial by repping fried chicken

Tim Cook’s Fortnite trial testimony was unexpectedly revealing

Tim Cook faces harsh questions about the App Store from judge in Fortnite trial

Apple wants users to trust iOS, but it doesn’t trust iOS users

The level of Mac malware is not acceptable, says Apple’s Craig Federighi at Epic trial

Apple asks court to rule iOS is not an ‘essential facility’

At the Epic trial, Phil Schiller got away clean

Apple’s Phil Schiller gives Epic iPhone testimony

Apple wants you to know it chose not to take a cut of $400 billion in physical goods

Apple said Roblox developers don’t make games, and now Roblox agrees

Epic fights Apple in court by playing Candy Crush

Apple needs to show iOS allows competition... while justifying locking it down

Epic v. Apple keeps coming back to the gap between ignorance and inconvenience

Epic and Apple are now fighting over a naked banana

Apple is using Itch.io’s ‘offensive and sexualized’ games as a cudgel against Epic

In Epic v Apple, everybody is losing at the game of defining games

After Xbox testimony, Apple tells Microsoft to put up or shut up

Epic needs to tarnish Apple’s App Store halo

Why the bad iPhone web app experience keeps coming up in Epic v. Apple

Internal emails reveal how badly Apple wanted to keep Netflix using in-app purchases

Epic v. Apple turns into Windows v. Xbox

Epic says there’s an App Store payment lockout — but Apple just sees friction

Tim Sweeney emailed Tim Cook personally to call for open app sales after WWDC in 2015

Epic pushed Xbox chief to open free multiplayer just ahead of Apple Fortnite battle

I watched the Epic v. Apple trial on Discord

Walmart’s unannounced cloud gaming service detailed in confidential Epic emails

Apple exec suggested cutting App Store commission to 20 percent as early as 2011

Epic spent at least $11.6 million on free games and gained 5 million new users in return

Apple antitrust trial kicks off with Tim Sweeney’s metaverse dreams

Fortnite made more than $9 billion in revenue in its first two years

Here are Apple’s and Epic’s full slideshows arguing why they should win at trial

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