Epic Games Asks Courts To Restrain Apple

Epic Games has filed an injunction against Apple, trying to get the court overseeing the case to “restrain” Apple from any adverse action against it. Epic has petitioned the courts to force Apple to allow Fortnite to return to the App Store. This isn’t the first time epic has sought the court’s help, in the past, the court didn’t save Fortnite from its band but did prevent Apple from booting the Epic Unreal Engine in retaliation.

The Unreal Engine is used in a range of games, and courts thought there would be too much collateral damage if it was caught up in the legal battle. Despite the court’s giving the Unreal Engine a reprieve, Epic has said the developers are ditching the Unreal Engine due to concerns over its potential future.

“Going forward, developers are questioning whether Unreal Engine would remain a viable platform on which to build their applications. There is no way to estimate the loss to Epic from an industry-wide shift away from Unreal Engine. Only a preliminary injunction can bring the level of certainty that developers need, and that Epic therefore needs to protect its business,” says Epic.

Epic wants the courts to force Apple to allow competing services rather than forcing developers to use the App Store and Apple’s in-app purchase system.

Epic wrote in its preliminary injunction filing, “To be clear, Epic does not seek to force Apple to provide distribution and processing services for free, nor does Epic seek to enjoy Apples services without paying for them. What Epic wants is the freedom not to use Apples App Store or IAP, and instead to use and offer competing services.”