Tim Sweeney welcomed a December 2025 appellate ruling in Epic Games’ dispute with Apple, but the decision did not settle what Apple may charge developers who link to outside payments. Fortnite’s availability also changed after the interview: Epic announced a return to the App Store worldwide on May 19, 2026, with Australia still an exception. As of the latest cited fee-process update, published August 11, 2026, the court had not set a final fee.
What did the Ninth Circuit decide?
The interview by Jay Peters for The Verge, published December 12, 2025, followed a Ninth Circuit ruling that largely affirmed an earlier finding that Apple had not complied with a 2021 order allowing developers to link to external payment options. The Verge’s account says Apple had used fees reaching 27 percent on external purchases and required plain-text links. That figure describes the challenged approach as reported by The Verge; it is not a universal or current Apple fee rate.
The appeals panel also sent the question of permissible charges back to the district judge. In The Verge’s summary, Apple could seek costs genuinely and reasonably necessary to coordinate external links, as well as some compensation for intellectual-property use directly involved in enabling purchases. The ruling was therefore a win for Epic on Apple’s compliance with the earlier order, not a final determination that Apple could never charge anything for external purchases.
What does Sweeney think Apple should be allowed to charge?
Sweeney said Apple should be able to recover reasonable costs for reviewing custom links and compensation for intellectual property directly used to enable purchases. He objected to a percentage of developer revenue, saying, “I can’t imagine any justification for a percentage of developer revenue being assessed here.” He also characterized such charges as “junk fees.”
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Those are Sweeney’s arguments, not the court’s final fee ruling. He called the appellate outcome “really awesome for all developers,” while the panel’s remand left the district court to determine what compensation, if any, would be reasonable under the ruling.
Where was Fortnite available after the interview?
Availability varied by date and territory. At the time of the December 2025 interview, Fortnite had returned to the U.S. App Store following the April 2025 ruling, and The Verge reported that it had also returned to Google Play in the United States around the interview date.
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Epic’s May 19, 2026 announcement said Fortnite was back on the App Store worldwide, but expressly excluded Australia. Epic said it was awaiting a court decision or lawful interim terms there. The announcement describes Epic’s account of storefront availability on that date; it does not establish that access was identical on every device or in every territory afterward.
| Territory and date | Availability or legal status | What the source establishes |
|---|---|---|
| United States, December 2025 | Fortnite had returned to the App Store; The Verge also reported a U.S. Google Play return around the interview. | The Verge’s contemporaneous account of the interview period. |
| Worldwide App Store, May 19, 2026 | Epic announced Fortnite’s return, with Australia excluded. | Epic’s statement; not a guarantee of uniform access across all devices or later dates. |
| Australia, May 19, 2026 | Epic said Fortnite had not returned to the Australian App Store and that it awaited a court decision or lawful interim terms. | Epic’s statement of its position and availability at that time. |
Did the Apple fee dispute end in 2026?
No final fee rate appears in the cited updates. The U.S. Supreme Court docket records that Apple applied for a stay of proceedings in May 2026 and that Justice Elena Kagan denied the application on May 6. That docket entry establishes the filing and denial; it does not decide the underlying fee question.
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MacRumors reported on August 11, 2026, that Apple’s request to pause the district-court fee proceedings had been denied. According to that report, Apple was to submit its proposed fees and Epic would have 60 days to respond, with the district court to determine what was reasonable. The latest cited update therefore describes an ongoing process, not a settled fee.
Could the ruling change app-store rules outside the United States?
Sweeney predicted that the Ninth Circuit opinion could help unblock regulatory efforts around the world. He said he hoped Apple would adopt “a single worldwide policy that works for everybody.” That is his forecast and preference, not a ruling that governs foreign app stores.
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Epic’s May 2026 statement also argued for enforcement of app-market rules in several jurisdictions. Any effects outside the United States depend on the relevant local laws, regulators, and court proceedings. The U.S. appellate decision and the Australian availability exception Epic identified are distinct developments, not evidence of one global rule.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does the dispute say about Fortnite’s wider future?
The App Store case matters to how Fortnite reaches players and how developers can offer payment options, but it does not by itself establish the game’s player numbers or settle Epic’s overall business outlook. The cited sources provide no current player-count figure.
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There is also wider company context: The Associated Press reported that Epic announced 1,000 layoffs in March 2026, about 20 percent of its workforce, and put its post-cut headcount at 4,000. AP said Epic attributed its position to slower growth, weaker spending, tougher cost economics, competition for attention, and company-specific challenges. Those reported explanations do not show that the Apple litigation caused the layoffs.
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