Epic Games, the company behind the wildly popular Fortnite game, has paid Apple $6 million for breaching the company’s App Store guidelines, according to a recent report from Apple Insider.
The payment resulted from a Sept. 10 court ruling following a trial between the two companies, which began in May, as PYMNTS reported. Epic and Apple had battled over Apple’s App Store policies and the question of whether the larger company hampers its competition. Epic had initially indicated that it would appeal the ruling.
Read more: Fortnite Maker Will Appeal Apple Antitrust Ruling
The fee paid to Apple represents damages stemming from funds generated by Fortnite sales on the App Store after Epic violated Apple’s policies and offered it elsewhere, according to the report.
Friday’s court ruling ordered Apple to loosen some of its rules concerning developers. However, the court found in favor of Apple in nine of 10 counts, allowing Apple to continue charging 15-30% for its in-app payment system.
In 2020, Epic implemented a direct payment option in its Fortnite game. In response, Apple eliminated Fortnite from the App Store.
As PYMNTS reported last week, Apple denied a request from Epic Games to reinstate Fortnite in the App Store in advance of South Korea’s law granting app developers the right to offer their own payment methods. South Korea is the first country to legislate how payments can be processed in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Related news: Apple Rejects Fortnite’s Bid for App Store Return in South Korea
Court proceedings affirmed that Epic netted more than $12 million in proceeds through its third-party payment system over a one-month period last year, according to the article. The court ordered Epic to pay Apple fees equal to 30% of the revenue in addition to 30% of funds generated from Nov. 1, 2020 through Sept. 10, 2021, the date of the ruling.
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