Apple Says 'We Won't Make an Exception' for Epic Games in App Store Dispute

The battle royale continues between Epic Games and Apple.

In a statement shared with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple said that "we won't make an exception for Epic because we don't think it's right to put their business interests ahead of the guidelines that protect our customers."

fortnite iphone
Apple said that "the problem Epic has created for itself is one that can be easily remedied" if Epic submits a version of the Fortnite app that does not offer a direct payment option for its in-game currency V-Bucks. Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store last week for offering players an alternative to its in-app purchase mechanism.

Apple's full statement:

The App Store is designed to be a safe and trusted place for users and a great business opportunity for all developers. Epic has been one of the most successful developers on the App Store, growing into a multibillion dollar business that reaches millions of iOS customers around the world. We very much want to keep the company as part of the Apple Developer Program and their apps on the Store. The problem Epic has created for itself is one that can easily be remedied if they submit an update of their app that reverts it to comply with the guidelines they agreed to and which apply to all developers. We won't make an exception for Epic because we don't think it's right to put their business interests ahead of the guidelines that protect our customers.

Read our Epic Games vs. Apple guide for an up-to-date timeline of the events surrounding Fortnite's removal from the App Store.

Popular Stories

iOS 18 Siri Personal Context

Report Reveals Internal Chaos Behind Apple's Siri Failure

Thursday April 10, 2025 7:15 am PDT by
A new report from The Information today reveals much of the internal turmoil behind Apple Intelligence's revamped version of Siri. Apple apparently weighed up multiple options for the backend of Apple Intelligence. One initial idea was to build both small and large language models, dubbed "Mini Mouse" and "Mighty Mouse," to run locally on iPhones and in the cloud, respectively. Siri's...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

Waiting for the Perfect MacBook Pro? 2026 Might Be the Year

Thursday April 10, 2025 4:19 am PDT by
Apple in October 2024 overhauled its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display changes, and more. That's quite a lot of updates in one go, but if you think this means a further major refresh for the MacBook Pro is now several years away, think again. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said he expects only a small...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

10 Products Still Coming From Apple in 2025

Friday April 11, 2025 4:14 pm PDT by
Apple may have updated several iPads and Macs late last year and early this year, but there are still multiple new devices that we're looking forward to seeing in 2025. Most will come in September or October, but there could be a few surprises before then. We've rounded up a list of everything that we're still waiting to see from Apple in 2025. iPhone 17, 17 Air, and 17 Pro - We get...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: New iOS 19, iPhone 17, and Apple Watch Ultra 3 Leaks

Friday April 11, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we catch up on the latest iOS 19 and watchOS 12 rumors, upcoming devices, and more. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Detailed new renders from leaker Jon Prosser claim to provide the best look yet at the complete redesign rumored to arrive in iOS 19, showing more rounded elements, lighting effects, translucency, and...
Alleged iOS 19 Icons Front Page Tech

iOS 19 Leak Reveals Alleged New Design With Rounder App Icons, Floating Tab Bar, and More

Monday April 7, 2025 3:13 pm PDT by
YouTube channel Front Page Tech is back today with another video that provides a closer look at iOS 19's alleged design changes. The video contains re-created renders of iOS 19, which are allegedly based on real footage of the software update, provided by sources within Apple. Overall, iOS 19 is expected to have a more glass-like, visionOS-inspired design, with added translucency for user...
Apple Northbrook

Apple Store in Chicago Area Permanently Closing Later This Month

Wednesday April 9, 2025 9:56 am PDT by
Apple will be permanently closing its store at the Northbrook Court shopping mall in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook on April 26, the company has announced. Apple has added the following notice to the store's web page:Thank you Northbook. Apple Northbrook is closing on April 26 at 7pm. We're still here for you. Please visit apple.com/retail to find your nearest store.Apple Northbrook opened ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Two Changes So Far

Wednesday April 9, 2025 9:09 am PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 18.5 last week, and so far the software update includes only two minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, there is some new AppleCare+ information. For ...
apple intelligence black

NYT: Apple's AI Struggles Began with 2023 Chip Budget Dispute

Friday April 11, 2025 4:33 am PDT by
Apple's current struggles with Apple Intelligence and Siri began in early 2023 when AI head John Giannandrea sought approval from CEO Tim Cook to purchase more AI chips for development, according to a new report from The New York Times. Cook initially approved doubling the team's chip budget, but CFO Luca Maestri reportedly reduced the increase to less than half that amount, and instead...
iPhone Fold Vertical Feature

Apple's 18.8-Inch Foldable Device to Enter Mass Production in Late 2026

Thursday April 10, 2025 1:33 am PDT by
Along with an iPhone "Fold," Apple is believed to be working on a larger foldable device that's somewhere around 19 inches, and one analyst suggests it could arrive as soon as late next year alongside Apple's rumored foldable iPhone. In a new research note covering likely post-tariff scenarios for Apple, investment firm GF Securities' lead analyst Jeff Pu says that both 18.8-inch and...

Top Rated Comments

fumi2014 Avatar
61 months ago
For all the endless clickbait articles on this on the net, it really boils down to one thing.

Apple: "We're not making enough money."

Epic: "We're not making enough money."

Don't get caught up in all the phony talk of ethics, fairness, anti-competitive practices. It's just a case of two extremely wealthy tech companies whining about not making enough money.

In other news: Millions of Americans without jobs. Pandemic raging.
Score: 74 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mattopotamus Avatar
61 months ago
I understand where both sides are coming from, but Epic is going to lose this. They don't have leg to stand on in the court of law. They knowingly violated the terms of their contract to prove a point?
Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)
amarcus Avatar
61 months ago

Apple has turned hostile towards developers and as a result, hostile towards consumers. I want choice. I want freedom.
Really? Apple's 30% cut has been constant since the App Store launched over ten years ago *and* they seem to be loosing their grip (iOS now allows default mail/browsers, widgets, multi-tasking etc.).

From my perspective, Epic are the ones playing dirty turning this into a publicity stunt and throwing a tantrum because they want to pay less. If this was just about freedom and offering prohibited apps (e.g. xCloud) then they wouldn't also be suing Google where this isn't an issue.

TL;DR Epic are a billion dollar company and are fighting to line their pockets and not for "freedom" or for us.
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EvilEvil Avatar
61 months ago
Apple should decrease their app revenue cut from 30% to 15% to show how much they care about their developers.
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
itsmilo Avatar
61 months ago
Apples hypocrisy is the most annoying part about the whole company. I still like their products itself but their whole marketing BS about "WE CARE ABOUT YOU AND NOT THE MONEY" is just off putting.

we don't think it's right to put their business interests ahead of the guidelines that protect our customers.

sit down Apple. Lets see ... 5 GB base storage that does not even fit a back up in most cases and leads to corrupt back ups is totally to protect the customer! Same with offering 64 GB as the base model (totally not done for upselling purposes) or the iCloud storage jump from 200 GB to 2 TB or everything being glued together in the MacBook. So environmental!

If anything, Apple is protecting their business interests since services make up a HUGE part of their sales now
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
auvxza Avatar
61 months ago
Apple is anti consumer. They allow anticompetitive practices by letting Amazon to use their own payment processing but do not allow Epic to do so. This just means that customers have to pay higher prices for apps and developers have less resources to create better experiences.

Apple is anti developer. Disabling Epics access to Apple Dev Kit will hurt all developers making games and other apps on Apple products. The majority of top triple A games on the App Store use Unreal Engine. I am a game developer and personally use Unreal Engine on my Mac (maybe only for another 10 days if Apple succeeds in banning Epic).

Another anti competitive practice Apple does is not allowing cloud streaming games with xCloud / Stadia but lets Netflix stream movies. Apple is stifling innovation in order to squeeze as much money from customers as possible.

This is not the Apple that I fell in love with. Epic is right, Apple has become rotten.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)