Apple is taking its fight against Epic Games all the way to the US Supreme Court, asking the court to throw out a 2021 ruling.
As GamesIndustry.biz reports, Apple has filed an appeal with the US Supreme Court, requesting it ultimately overrule a previous ruling from back in 2021. This original ruling, if you don't quite remember, is one that stated in nine cases out of 10, Epic failed to prove Apple held a majority that would fall afoul of antitrust laws.
You might think that sounds like a really good ruling for Apple, so why would it appeal the decision? The original ruling stated that Apple couldn't block developers from linking out to third-party payment options on iOS devices, which is what kicked off the whole legal battle when Epic attempted to subvert Apple's 30% transaction fee by linking out to their own storefront on iOS devices.
So although Apple won in nine cases out of 10, it lost that portion of the ruling, which is what it's now appealing. Apple has actually appealed this ruling once already, earlier this year in April 2023, when Epic claimed a resounding victory as the US Court of Appeals judge sided with Epic and upheld the original 2021 ruling in its entirety.
Basically, things aren't looking great for Apple in maintaining tight control over payment options on iOS devices. This is why Apple is appealing the decision, all the way to the US Supreme Court at the very top of the US judiciary, in the hopes it can block third-party payment options and retain its 30% cut of all App Store transaction fees.
Keeping in mind that the decision from the US Court of Appeals took months to arrive, don't expect the Supreme Court's decision tomorrow.
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