Epic Games and the Epic Win that Wasn’t as Epic
Epic Games has been grabbing headlines for the past three years due to its legal battle with Apple and Google over their App Store policies. While the outcomes of these battles have been vastly different, the underlying motivation for Epic has been its desire to maximize profits from its mobile games, such as Fortnite.
Epic took issue with the 30% commission charged by Apple and Google for in-app purchases. In response to Epic’s complaints, Apple reduced its commission rate for long-term subscribers and introduced the App Store Small Business Program, benefiting the majority of developers. However, this did not include Epic.
Subsequently, Epic attempted to circumvent both Apple and Google’s in-app purchase systems, resulting in the company being banned from both app stores. Epic retaliated by suing both tech giants for anticompetitive behavior.
The legal battle with Apple ultimately ended in favor of the tech giant, with the judge dismissing most of Epic’s claims and ruling in Apple’s favor. However, in the case of Google, Epic emerged victorious. The reasons for these differing outcomes lie in the nature of the cases and the stance of the judges involved.
In the case against Apple, the judge ruled that while Apple had violated California’s unfair competition law, the evidence presented did not prove that Apple operated as an illegal monopoly. On the other hand, the case against Google highlighted the tech giant’s monopolistic behavior, causing the jury to rule in Epic’s favor.
The trial outcomes also reflect the different approaches taken by Apple and Google in their app store operations. While Apple maintains consistency in its treatment of developers, Google’s more superficial openness worked against it in the lawsuit.
Furthermore, the nature of the trials, with the Apple case being a bench trial and the Google case involving a judge and jury, also factored into the differing outcomes. The emotional narrative presented by Epic’s lawyers in the case against Google likely resonated with the jury, while the technical legal issues in the case against Apple were better suited for a judge to evaluate.
In the aftermath of these legal battles, both Apple and Google are poised to make changes to their app store policies, influenced not only by the trials but also by international regulatory scrutiny.
As the dust settles from these legal battles, it is clear that the repercussions will extend beyond the courtroom and influence the future landscape of app store operations.
