Court rules Apple cant' restrict Unreal Engine

Epic partially won a temporary restraining order against Apple. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple can’t terminate Epic’s developer accounts or otherwise limit the ability of developers to use Unreal Engine on iOS and Mac. Not yet, anyway.

The ruling will only last until the final settlement of the dispute arrives. This is to avoid “potential significant damage to both the Unreal Engine platform itself, and to the gaming industry generally.”

While Unreal can stay on Apple platforms for the time being, a different decision was made about the title that launched the whole conflict.

“The Court finds that with respect to Epic Games’ motion as to its games, including Fortnite, Epic Games has not yet demonstrated irreparable harm. The current predicament appears of its own making,” Rogers wrote, saying that “self-inflicted wounds are not irreparable injury. The sensible way to proceed is for [Epic to comply with the agreements and guidelines] and continue to operate” as the litigations continues. It means that right now Apple doesn’t have to reinstate Fortnite on its App Store.

In general, “Epic Games and Apple are at liberty to litigate against each other, but their dispute should not create havoc to bystanders,” the order reads.

A hearing concerning the preliminary injunction is scheduled for September 28th.