The court trial between Epic Games and Apple over the banning of Fortnite has finally set a date for May 2021. That will be three months before the anniversary of the initial ban, which was brought about when Epic introduced a direct pay system for Fortnite's in-game currency V-Bucks. Since this system completely undercut Apple's profits from in-app purchases, Fortnite was swiftly banned from the App Store, leading Epic to sue the tech giant over antitrust policies.
While many have been waiting impatiently for the matter to be resolved legally, both Epic and Apple have let their conflict spill outside of the courtroom. Following the initial Fortnite ban on iOS, Apple worked to purge Epic from iPhones entirely, and only a judge's intervention protected the developer's Unreal Engine from sharing this fate and endangering thousands of third-party software developers who had absolutely nothing to do with the struggle. Apple has also been working to loosen Epic's hold on Mac computers as well; Fortnite can no longer receive updates on macOS, which has led to the complete removal of Fortnite: Save the World.
A possible resolution to this struggle has officially been scheduled, but it's still a long ways off. As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, a court date has been set for May 3rd, 2021. The trial will take place with no jury, thanks to a joint statement filed by both parties late last month. It will be preceded by a pretrial conference on April 21st. At this point it is unclear if the trial will be held in person or not thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic; Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers mentioned that a combination of both options might be considered. In the more immediate future, the combatants will have to look forward to a case management conference on October 19th of this year, which will allow all parties to streamline the trial process.
The news that this conflict won't be resolved until the middle of next year is certain to be a disappointment for a lot of Fortnite fans with Apple devices. Unfortunately for them, this war was destined to be a lengthy one. Apple has already stated that it's willing to let the Fortnite ban drag on for a full year, contradicting earlier statements claiming that it would be happy to end the ban whenever Epic apologized and removed its direct payment system. It's an unfortunate truth, but matters this severe don't just get resolved overnight.
The Fortnite feud is a very important case that could have huge ramifications for how mobile games get distributed online. A lot of Fortnite fans have complained over their newfound inability to play the beloved battle royale on mobile devices, especially since complications with a recent iOS update might remove the game from some peoples' phones entirely. But a case this significant is worth the wait, and Fortnite fans can take solace in the fact that the end is in sight, no matter how far away it might appear.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
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