Epic's Tim Sweeney declares "the long national nightmare of the Apple tax is ended" as appeals court officially denies Apple's emergency motion

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has denied Apple's emergency request to halt changes to its App Store resulting from the company's legal fight with Apple.

Following the conclusion of that years-long battle, Apple is now required to allow apps to point users toward payment platforms that exist outside its own app, and it now can't take a cut from any of those external purchases.

In May, Apple asked the appeals court to pause that directive, and this week a panel of judges denied the motion to stay, saying "we are not persuaded that a stay is appropriate."

As the CEO of the company at the forefront of tackling Apple's notoriously hefty fees, Tim Sweeney is celebrating this latest legal triumph. "Apple's stay is denied by the 9th Circuit Court," reads a tweet from Sweeney quoting pages from the order. "The long national nightmare of the Apple tax is ended."

Sweeney added, "May next week's [Worldwide Developers Conference] be the Apple-led celebration of freedom that developers and users have long deserved."

The Apple vs. Epic quarrel dates back to 2020 when Fortnite was pulled from Apple platforms following Epic's attempt to give players methods to bypass Apple's payment platform and instead pay for in-game purchases directly to Epic. The ensuing back-and-forth in court was long and messy, but Epic essentially emerged victorious with various key victories.

Fortnite is now back on the App Store in the US after a recent and temporary hiccup, and last month Epic offered a "peace proposal" that could pave the way for the game's return to Apple platforms worldwide.

Here's what we know about the next Fortnite live event, Death Star Sabotage, and when it starts.