Unreal Engine is safe on iOS and Mac for now, but Fortnite's still off

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Unreal Engine is safe on iOS and Mac for now, but Fortnite’s still offSome good news for Epic

Some good news for Epic

So. Sick of Apple and Google taking a 30% cut of all sales through their app stores, Epic gave Fortnite a new microtransaction payment option running through their own system on August 13th. This being against store rules, Apple and Google promptly kicked Fortnite out. Epic responded withlawsuitsaccusingbothof “monopolistic” and “anti-competitive” behaviour, plus a daft propaganda video mocking Apple. Then Apple said they’d revoke Epic’s developer accounts, and Epic said whoa hang on let’s not be hasty. On the 17th, Epicfiled for a temporary restraining orderhoping to keep their dev accounts active and Fortnite on the App Store. Losing their developer accounts would make no more updates for Unreal Engine on Mac or iOS, which would have dire consequences for developers who build games on Unreal -even Microsoft agreed.

On Monday, a judge backed some of Epic’s requests. For now, Epic’s developer accounts are to stay active. Partially it’s because Epic’s corporate structure means the company behind Unreal Engine “appears” to have separate licenses from the one behind Fortnite, and it seems only the Fortnite gang might have breached their licenses. Partially it’s because damn, killing all Epic’s dev accounts would cause unfathomable trouble.

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Epic had also argued that Apple shouldn’t be allowed to shut down Fortnite on iOS but the judge disagreed, saying the company had “not yet demonstrated irreparable harm” would follow. She also observed, “The current predicament appears of [Epic’s] own making.” It does.

What’s next? After a bit of paperwork, the court will start a hearing on Epic’s desired preliminary injunction on Monday the 28th of September. That’ll focus on the issues of developer accounts and Fortnite’s removal. This is separate to Epic’s lawsuits against Apple and Google over their alleged monopolies, which may be far bigger and longer battles.