Apple and Epic Games are headed to the Supreme Court in long-running case

Brian Gordon, The News & Observer on Jun 30, 2026

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After six years and multiple rulings, the case between Apple and North Carolina video game developer Epic Games is heading to the nation’s highest court. On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would hear Apple’s appeal over how a lower court enforced an earlier antitrust decision that went against the California tech giant.

What the Supreme Court decides could impact how much iPhone users pay when using apps — and how much revenue Epic Games generates from Fortnite and other games as the company looks to rebound following a major round of layoffs this spring.

“We’re heading to the Supreme Court where we’ll continue to fight against junk fees Apple charges on third-party payments,” Epic Games posted Tuesday on X. “Lower courts have rightly found Apple’s fees to be illegal and anticompetitive and we’ll continue to defend free markets.”

The case began in August 2020 when Epic CEO and majority owner Tim Sweeney sparked antitrust fights against Apple and Google over their respective app stores. At the time, the two companies levied up to 30% fees for in-app purchases and didn’t let developers link customers to external billing systems that might be less expensive. Fortnite, Epic Games’ biggest hit, is free to play but allows players to purchase in-game currency, called v-bucks, to obtain season passes and character cosmetics like outfits and dance moves.

A jury ultimately ruled in Epic’s favor against Google, but judges have decided the ongoing Apple case.

In a statement provided Tuesday to The News & Observer, Apple wrote “this is an important question of law and we are pleased the Supreme Court will hear our case.”

Two pillars of Apple’s argument

Apple’s appeal contains two main legal arguments. One is that U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers erred in finding the company in contempt for failing to adhere to her 2021 ruling, which, despite actually favoring Apple in many ways, said it could no longer prevent app developers from “steering” users to payment platforms outside the App Store.

In response, Apple allowed steering to external billing platforms but charged large developers a 27% commission to do so, which negated possible cost savings. It also added screens which critics said discouraged customers from leaving Apple’s system. Gonzalez Rogers was frustrated, ruling last year that the fee and screens violated her order and “strains credulity” as a remedy.

Apple contends its 27% commission can’t violate the “spirit” of Rogers’ ruling because the ruling never specified what proper fee rates would be.

The company’s second argument to the Supreme Court connects to President Donald Trump.

Apple questioned whether one company’s lawsuit can change rules for all developers. If Epic Games is the specific company that sued, why should a district judge’s ruling apply to Spotify, Kindle, and all App Store developers?

To support this argument, Apple pointed to last year’s Supreme Court decision in Trump v. CASA, Inc. In that case, the Supreme Court found lower courts generally can’t set nationwide injunctions to block presidential executive actions.

The justices are expected to consider the appeal in the court’s next term, which begins in October, Reuters reported. A ruling is then expected in 2027.

Sweeney hinted at court battles in layoff letter

Sweeney cofounded Epic Games in 1991 and moved the company to Cary later that decade. Epic created the Gears of War series and the popular graphics tool, Unreal Engine, but it was the success of the multiplayer shooter game Fortnite that propelled Epic from a mid-sized studio to one of the world’s most valuable private companies. Today, Sweeney is a billionaire and the state’s third-richest person.

Fortnite is a vibrantly colored game that took off when Epic released its “battle royale” version in 2017. Many considered it to be one of the sector’s “forever games” for its sustained popularity. This distinction was dinged in March when Sweeney announced Epic would lay off more than 1,000 employees due in part to falling Fortnite player interest.

This was Epic’s second mass jobs cut in the past three years. In September 2023, the company laid off 830 employees companywide, with 170 Triangle layoffs. Its latest staff reduction eliminated 211 positions at its Cary headquarters.

Sweeney alluded to his antitrust challenges against Apple and Google in a March 24 staff letter announcing the latest job cuts.

“We’re only in the early stages of returning to mobile and optimizing Fortnite for the world’s billions of smartphones,” he wrote. “And in being the industry’s vanguard we have taken a lot of bullets in a battle which is only in the early days of paying off for ourselves and all developers.”