Apple Faces Court Order: Resolve Fortnite Removal Dispute or Appear Before Judge by May 27

Apple may face judicial scrutiny for not reinstating Fortnite in its US App Store if it fails to resolve its ongoing dispute with Epic Games by May 27.

The CEO of Epic had revealed three weeks prior that the popular game would be resubmitted to the App Store after nearly five years of legal battles between the firms. However, Apple is not cooperating as it appeals the most recent ruling against it.

US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, based in Oakland, California, stated on Monday in an order, “Apple can effectively address this matter without requiring more discussions or a hearing,” adding that an Apple representative must appear before her if further intervention becomes necessary.

The two companies have been clashing since 2020, culminating in proceedings at the US Supreme Court, regarding developer fees and other regulations surrounding Apple’s software marketplace. The removal of the Fortnite app from its platform has denied over a billion iPhone and iPad users access.

Epic chose not to comment, while Apple did not provide an immediate response to a request for a statement.

Although Gonzalez Rogers did not explicitly state that the app must be reinstated, it seems unlikely that alternatives would meet the judge’s approval. She has granted Apple until Wednesday to specify which executive will be “fully prepared to respond to any queries related to the issue.” The App Store is overseen by executive Phil Schiller, along with a business team led by Carson Oliver and an app review team directed by Trystan Kosmynka.

On April 30, Gonzalez Rogers dealt a significant blow to Apple by ruling that the tech giant had breached a 2021 order by failing to allow third-party payment options in the App Store and must stop imposing commissions on sales made outside its marketplace.

Apple is requesting an appeals court to suspend that ruling while it seeks to challenge it.

In a separate matter, Epic accused Apple on Friday of preventing Fortnite from being sold on third-party marketplaces within the European Union, which Apple denied.

In her ruling from April 30, Gonzalez Rogers claimed that an Apple executive provided false testimony under oath and referred the case to federal prosecutors to investigate whether Apple engaged in criminal contempt of court by disregarding her 2021 ruling.

The case is Epic Games Inc. v. Apple Inc., 20-cv-05640, US District Court, Northern District of California (Oakland).

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)