The Apple Vs Epic Games court case has finished after the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of either party this week. Now, in order to pay off what are, apparently, incredibly expensive legal fees, Apple has asked for the court to grant an absolutely massive bill against Epic.
Apple wants $73,404,326 from the North Carolinian games maker, a mind-boggling number that barely seems real. Just be happy you’re not Epic Games accountant.
If you are — sorry, that’s a really big number.
Why so much?
Look on the bright side though — it could have been worse! According to gamesfray’s Florian Mueller on X, Apple originally said it spent $82,971,401 on the case, and then adjusted that number down to $81,560,362. Apple then gave Epic a 10% discount because the former lost one of the nine counts, making the final total a cool $73,404,326.
#Apple wants #EpicGames to reimburse $73 MILLION AND COUNTING (the dispute isn't over yet) in litigation expenses. Apple says it's spent $82,971,401 defending against that case, adjusts it to $81,560,362, then deducts 10% as Epic prevailed on 1 of 10 counts ➡️ $73,404,326.🧵1/4 pic.twitter.com/0Qwa3yA6esJanuary 17, 2024
Apple claims that the damages come from “Epic’s breach of the developer agreement” when it offered microtransactions in Fortnite through an alternative payment service, a clear violation of App Store policy. Gamesfray says that “Early into the litigation, Epic accepted that if it loses on its antitrust claims (as it did), it owes damages.”
So it looks like Epic is prepared to pay — although had it won the anti-trust part of the case, things might have been different. If that was the case, “the contract clause wouldn’t have been enforceable”, and Apple wouldn’t have been able to claim so much money from its court rival.
The end of this case now gives Apple a chance to make an example of Epic to other companies that will have been watching proceedings with eagle eyes — mess with Apple and its App Store and not only is your app off the store but Apple will chase you down with some very scary legal people and a big bill.
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