We’re 11 days into the Epic Games v. Apple trial, and bombshells revealed in testimonies and documents continue to shake up the tech industry.
There’s plenty on the line: The antitrust case concerns commission fees on in-app purchases that could impact as many as 1 billion customers in the $100 billion app market. It’s a result of Epic circumventing Apple’s 30% commission fee on its App Store.
The trial’s latest development solidifies its trickle-down effect on major corporations.
There have been a series of requests submitted to seal sensitive documents from Sony, Nintendo, Roblox, PayPal, Spotify, Samsung, Apple, and Epic because of business practices revealed during the trial, per a court document seen by GamesIndustry.biz.
Since the trial started, lots of industry secrets have come out:
- Sony makes Epic pay up for the cross-platform availability of “Fortnite.” PlayStation is the only platform with this type of arrangement.
- The Epic Games Store has yet to turn a profit, with losses expected to reach $719 million by 2027.
- Xbox executive Lori Wright said that Microsoft has never turned a profit on hardware sales from its Xbox consoles when she testified as a witness for Epic. Apple filed a motion questioning the credibility of that claim the next day.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers approved some requests from Spotify, Samsung, Roblox, and PayPal — but denied others from Sony, Nintendo, Apple, and Epic. The judge’s reasoning: terms at issue were public information after leaks or had already been discussed at trial.
The trial is expected to conclude next week. If Epic is successful, it will likely set a precedent that forever changes how tech giants like Apple collect commission fees.
