Apple and Fortnite developer Epic Games have been trading blows in public over the past week or so, but now we're getting a judge to weigh in on the situation for the first time.
US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has ruled that Apple does not have to immediately allow Fortnite to return to the App Store. It wasn't a total win for Apple, though, because Rogers also granted Epic's request for a temporary order to prevent Apple from blocking use of Epic's Unreal Engine by other game developers.
Rogers explained that Apple has "chosen to act severely" by threatening to block the Unreal Engine and harm other developers who use Epic's platform to make their own games. "Epic Games and Apple are at liberty to litigate against each other, but their dispute should not create havoc to bystanders," Rogers said.
The judge also cautioned that the case isn't a "slam dunk" for either side. She went on to set a September 28 hearing for Epic's request for a preliminary injunction.
In a statement to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman about Rogers' ruling, Apple said that its priority is to ensure that App Store customers "have a great experience in a safe and trusted environment" and that it will "gladly welcome Fortnite back onto iOS" if Epic complies with the App Store guidelines.
Here's Apple's full statement:
"We thank the court for recognizing that Epic's problem is entirely self-inflicted and is in their power to resolve. Our very first priority is making sure App Store users have a great experience in a safe and trusted environment, including iPhone users who play Fortnite and are looking forward to the game's next seasons.
"We agree with Judge Gonzalez-Rogers that 'the sensible way to proceed' is for Epic to comply with the App Store guidelines and continue to operate while the case proceeds. If Epic takes the steps the judge has recommended, we will gladly welcome Fortnite back onto iOS. We look forward to making our case to the court in September."
Apple recently threatened to terminate Epic's Apple Developer Account by August 28, which would block Epic from distributing iOS apps and cut off Epic's development tools for creating software on Apple's platforms, including the Unreal Engine.
As noted by MacRumors, Rogers said that Apple can not terminate accounts related to the development of the Unreal Engine because they're held by Epic International, which has its own developer account with Apple. While Apple argued that developers who normally violate App Store rules to have all of their related dev accounts terminated, Rogers won't let Apple do that because it would affect others not involved in this case.
