Judge Strongly Warns Apple (AAPL) to Bring Fortnite Back to Its U.S. App Store

Epic Games and tech giant Apple (AAPL) are once again in a legal fight, this time over Epic’s attempt to bring Fortnite back to the U.S. App Store after a five-year absence. Epic had originally pulled Fortnite in 2020 in order to challenge Apple’s 30% fee on in-app purchases. While earlier court decisions mostly favored Apple, a recent ruling by Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers sided with Epic and ordered Apple to let developers use other payment options, as well as to stop taking a cut from those outside payments. Following the ruling, Epic tried to resubmit Fortnite to the U.S. App Store, but Apple has refused to act on the submission while it waits for a higher court’s decision on its request to pause the ruling.

Unsurprisingly, Epic says that Apple’s delay goes against the judge’s order and has filed a second Motion to Enforce Injunction with the California district court. As a result, Judge Rogers responded with a strong warning: if Apple doesn’t work things out soon, an Apple executive responsible for following the court’s orders must show up in person on May 27. Apple suggested that Epic submit Fortnite only for the EU, using a different company instead of Epic Sweden, but Epic pushed back by saying that goes against Apple’s usual rules and would unfairly block the game in both the U.S. and Europe.

Fortnite had briefly returned to iPhones in the EU last year, thanks to the Digital Markets Act, but was taken down again because of the ongoing dispute with Apple. Understandably, Epic believes that Apple is retaliating against it for challenging its App Store policies. The final outcome of this fight could impact more than just Fortnite. In fact, if Apple is forced to allow more freedom with app payments and distribution, other companies might follow by bringing their games directly to mobile devices, which would materially impact Apple’s profitability, according to analysts.

Is Apple a Buy or Sell Right Now?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on AAPL stock based on 17 Buys, eight Holds, and four Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average AAPL price target of $228.65 per share implies 10.2% upside potential.

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