The Apple vs Epic Games Trial Is Heating Up

Still going to go on forever, though.

It felt like one million years ago that Epic kicked off a bitter battle with Apple, leading to Fortnite being removed from iOS, but now it looks like an in-person trial is going to be on the cards.

As first reported by MacRumors, on March 1st, the US District Court for the Northern District of California held a conference adjudicated by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez, in which a trial was set for May 3rd that required witnesses to travel to stand trial in-person.

That’s right, this legal battle is so bitter (like the cider you could make from that Apple skin Epic made for Fortnite) that they are finding ways around a pandemic to make it happen in-person to stop any funny business. Proper COVID protocol will be in place, but the meeting will instead take place on Zoom should infections start rising in the area again. Epic is pushing for a trial that will take four to five weeks, though the judge wants to conclude it sooner.

 

What’s Apple vs Epic Games All About?

Well, to boil it down to the most basic bits of info: Epic didn’t like having to give Apple such a huge cut for having Fortnite on iOS, so they decided to put a payment method in that would circumvent any charges. Apple, none too happy about this, decided to remove Fortnite from the App Store, leading Epic to file a lawsuit and start a #FreeFortnite marketing campaign to try and drum up public support. Apple then followed suit with their own lawsuit.

The battle has been mired in the ol’ legalese for some time since, but this May should represent the biggest move forward for the case since it all kicked off. It almost definitely won’t signal an end to it all, though, just as these lawsuits tend to trundle on for years and years and years.

 

Will Fortnite Ever Return To iOS?

There’s a high chance it will, but honestly, with just how at each other’s throats Apple and Epic are, there’s a high chance it never will, even if Epic were to win the case. There have been some pretty nasty tactics employed by both, such as Epic preparing a marketing campaign before anything even really kicked off and Apple trying to strong arm Steam into getting involved, so there’s a high chance they will never play nice.

Fortnite is free-to-play on PC via the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Android.

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