A U.S. District Judge has ordered Apple to explain why it has chosen to defy the antisteering court order she issued, after the Cupertino firm has failed to approve the return of “Fortnite” to the U.S. App Store.
Epic Games last week filed a court motion petitioning Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to force Apple to approve Fortnite in the US App Store. The game publisher claims Apple is maliciously dawdling when it comes to its approval of the game, claiming the Cupertino company is not complying with an injunction the judge issued earlier in the case.
As you might expect, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney (he’ll save us all!) flexed a bit, posting a screenshot of the Judge’s order on his X account on Monday.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) May 19, 2025
Apple sent a letter to Epic, which the games publisher was more then happy to share, saying it “won’t take action on the Fortnite app submission until after the Ninth Circuit rules on our pending request for a partial stay of the new injunction.”
Epic says Apple’s had previously expressed assurances that it would approve Fortnite, as long as the app complied with Apple’s guidelines.
Last week, Apple seemingly ignored Epic’s submission of Fortnite to the U.S. App Store. As Epic had tied the update to the game in the European Union, Fortnite has also not been available in the EU since Friday.
If Apple doesn’t approve Fortnite for the U.S. App Store without the court intervening, an “Apple official who is personally responsible for ensuring compliance shall personally appear” at a May 27 hearing. That means a high-ranking Apple executive, such as App Store chief Phil Schiller, will need to attend the hearing.
The Court is in receipt of Epic Games, Inc.’s Motion to Enforce the Injunction. The Court thus issues this Order to Show Cause as to why the motion should not be granted. Briefing shall occur on the schedule listed below and shall include the legal authority upon which Apple contends that it can ignore this Court’s order having not received a stay from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal even though its request was filed twelve days ago on May 7, 2025.
Obviously, Apple is fully capable of resolving this issue without further briefing or a hearing. However, if the parties do not file a joint notice that this issue is resolved, and this Court’s intervention is required, the Apple official who is personally responsible for ensuring compliance shall personally appear at the hearing hereby set for Tuesday, May 27, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. in the United States District Court, Northern District of California, Oakland, California, Courtroom One.
Apple is currently appealing the judge’s ruling that requires it to allow developers to link customers to outside app and content purchase options other than the U.S. App Store. That appeal is still pending.
Apple has allowed some app developers to submit apps with external links to alternate purchase options, including Amazon’s Kindle, Spotify, and Patreon.
