Judge denies request to force Fortnite back on iOS App Store pending trial

Apple can continue to block Epic Games' Fortnite from the iOS App Store as the parties move to a trial, Federal District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said in a ruling issued late Friday.Further ReadingJudge issues restraining order protecting Unreal Engine development on iOSIn the 39-page ruling, Judge Rogers restates her previous finding that any harm Epic is currently facing to its Fortnite business, or to the game's reputation, is self-inflicted on Epic's part. The company brought about the current state of affairs when it issued a hotfix update offering a new Epic Direct Payments in-app purchase (IAP) system for Fortnite, a move that was in direct violation of its iOS App Store development contract with Apple."In short, Epic Games cannot simply exclaim 'monopoly' to rewrite agreements giving itself unilateral benefit," Judge Rogers writes in denying Epic's request for an injunction restoring Fortnite to the App Store. Though it's a "close question" whether Epic's Unreal Engine and Fortnite developer agreements are truly separate, in the end she found that "with respect to access to the developer tools (SDKs), Apple’s reaching into separate agreements with separate entities appears to be retaliatory, especially where these agreements have not been otherwise breached.""The parties’ dispute is easily cabined on the antitrust allegations with respect to the App Store," Judge Rogers writes.