The creators of "Fortnite" can now continue to work on bringing the cult online game back to the iPhone in the EU after Apple said it was lifting a block it had announced days earlier in March.
Apple said it would allow Epic's own app store after it agreed to comply with the platform's rules, including Apple's implementation of the EU's new anti-competition law. The game developer then announced that it would continue to work on its own platform for downloading games in Europe.
Apple had previously said that, due to previous breaches of the rules by Epic, the company's right to exclude the developer from the platform had been confirmed in court.
The European Commission, which monitors compliance with the new Digital Media Act (DMA), immediately demanded explanations from Apple regarding the expulsion.
EU Commissioner Thierry Breton also attributed Apple's U-turn to the authority's contacts with the company. This shows that the DMA brings concrete results, he wrote on social media platform X.
With the implementation of the DMA in early March aimed at promoting fair competition in the EU, Apple has had to allow apps from sources other than its own App Store to be downloaded onto the iPhone for the first time ever.
Epic had planned to use this new law aimed at promoting fair competition to bring "Fortnite" - banned from the App Store since August 2020 following a breach of the company rules - back to the iPhone, at least in the European Union.
Epic announced the latest development in a blog post on Wednesday, according to which, Apple had already blocked a Swedish developer account set up by Epic Games a few weeks earlier on March 2.
"History shows," reads a letter from Apple's lawyers posted by Epic Games, "that Epic is verifiably untrustworthy."
The long dispute was triggered by an attempt by Epic to use a trick to circumvent the 15 or 30% fee that Apple charges on transactions in its App Store.
Apple kicked "Fortnite" out of the App Store because of this violation of its rules. Epic took the matter to court in the US, but lost in all instances.
Under the new terms and conditions, Apple is introducing a fee of 50 cents for each additional initial installation after one million downloads of an app in a twelve-month period.
However, developers can also remain in the old model and only distribute their apps via Apple's App Store. However, if they switch to the new system, there is no way back to the previous conditions.
Apple is meanwhile telling users that installing apps from outside its own App Store is a security risk.
The music streaming market leader Spotify accuses Apple of not wanting to make distribution via other marketplaces economically viable for app developers with the DMA implementation.
Apple has been named by the European Commission as one of the six "gatekeepers" subject to stricter competition rules under the DMA. The Commission will also decide whether a gatekeeper fulfils its obligations by implementing the DMA.
