The boss of Epic Games, publisher of the video game phenomenon Fortnite, said on Tuesday that his company's legal battle to force Apple to open its iPhones to alternative app stores was “lost” after the US Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
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“The legal battle to open iOS (Apple's mobile operating system) to competing stores and payment services is lost in the United States,” wrote Tim Sweeney on X, formerly Twitter.
“This is a sad outcome for all developers,” he added.
The Supreme Court announced it would not hear appeals from Apple or Epic in the long-running case, bringing the legal saga to an end.
In 2020, Epic launched a lawsuit against Apple and Google, which largely dominate the global mobile economy with Android and iOS, and charges commissions on user purchases. The studio accuses them of exercising a monopoly on this market.
Apple and Google charge up to 30% of all financial transactions made on their app stores, prompting complaints of an unfair “tax” on businesses.
Two years ago, after the legal battle between Apple and Epic, an American federal judge ordered the Apple brand to allow publishers to offer users alternative payment methods, but, above all, considered that Epic had not failed to provide evidence that Apple had violated competition law.
The two companies appealed the decision, which was filed with the Supreme Court.
Tim Sweeney said it is now up to governments and regulators to order Apple to make its iPhones compatible with new payment systems.
He also praised the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which will make this possible in Europe from March 7.
Last month, Epic scored an unexpected victory against Google in the US when a jury ruled that the internet giant abused its power to stifle competition in the mobile app market from Android.
Unlike Apple, Google allows alternative stores, but according to Epic Games this is an illusion and Android is hardly more open than iOS.