Apple seeks damages against Epic Games for breach of contract

By Allison Matyus September 8, 2020

Apple filed a counterclaim against Epic Games on Tuesday to seek damages for a breach of contract.

The tech giant wants Epic Games to pay them reparations for breaching the contract. More specifically, Apple wants the money that Fortnite collected through the App Store.

“Epic’s lawsuit is nothing more than a basic disagreement over money,” Apple said in the filing with the District Court for the Northern District of California. “Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality, it is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store.”

In the filing, Apple said Epic Games earned over $600 million from the App Store, but the company does not specify the amount in damages they are seeking.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Digital Trends reached out to Epic Games to comment on the counterclaim. We will update this story when we hear back.

The dispute between the two companies started last month when Epic Games attempted to bypass the 30% commission that Apple collects from in-app transactions in Fortnite by offering a feature that allows players to make purchases directly from the developer at a discount.

Apple responded by removing Fortnite from the App Store, and Epic Games responded by filing a lawsuit and seeking a restraining order.

“Because Apple has a monopoly over the distribution of iOS apps, app developers have no choice but to assent to this anticompetitive tie; it is Apple’s way or the highway,” Epic Games’ initial legal complaint against Apple claims.

The next hearing in the legal dispute between Apple and Epic is scheduled for September 28.

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Allison Matyus is a general news reporter at Digital Trends. She covers any and all tech news, including issues around social…

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