Tim Sweeney on the SCOTUS Ruling

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney:

The Supreme Court denied both sides’ appeals of the Epic v. Apple antitrust case. The court battle to open iOS to competing stores and payments is lost in the United States. A sad outcome for all developers.

Now the District Court’s injunction against Apple’s anti-steering rule is in effect, and developers can include in their apps “buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms, in addition to IAP”.

As of today, developers can begin exercising their court-established right to tell US customers about better prices on the web.

It’s sad for Epic, perhaps, and game developers in general, but I think overall this is a good day for developers, and a great day for users. In-app game purchases are already too predatory, as things stand — they’d get far worse if games on iOS were free to circumvent Apple’s system. If a developer wants users to sign up and pay on their website, they can now tell them so, in plain language, in the app.

The truth should never be against the rules. If you need to pay/subscribe on the app’s website, the app should be able to tell you that you need to pay/subscribe on their website.

★ Tuesday, 16 January 2024