Apple Wants a New Judge After Epic Games Ruling — Yes, Seriously

The post Apple Wants a New Judge After Epic Games Ruling — Yes, Seriously appeared first on Android Headlines.

Jun 25, 2025 - 11:00

A few years ago, Epic Games took Apple to court over how the Cupertino company runs the App Store. For the most part, Apple won its fight against Epic. However, the company was required to make some changes. Now, it looks like Apple isn’t happy with the ruling in its Epic Games lawsuit and has filed an appeal and called for a new judge.

Apple wants a new judge in Epic Games case

According to a recent appeal filed by the Apple, the company is asking the Ninth Circuit Court to toss out a recent order. This order basically blocks Apple from charging commissions from developers on in-app purchases made outside the App Store. The company claims that the ruling goes too far and punishes behavior that it calls legal. Apple argues that the recent order crosses a legal line. They also say that the court is using contempt powers that go beyond the initial decision.

Apple is also defending the 27% cut it takes from in-app purchases made outside the App Store. According to Apple, “The district court’s new prohibition against any commission on sales facilitated by Apple’s own platform has no basis in the original injunction, is fundamentally unfair, violates the UCL, and amounts to a taking in violation of the U.S. Constitution…There is a vast gulf between finding that Apple’s 27% headline commission was too high and declaring that Apple is no longer allowed to charge any commission at all.”

A bit of backstory

For those unfamiliar, the courts made a ruling in 2021 that forced Apple to allow developers to steer users to third-party payment options. This means that instead of purchases being made directly through the App Store, developers would have the option to use a different service, one that might charge a smaller commission than Apple.

However, Apple sort of ignored the ruling. It continued to take a cut from developers, despite the fact that they used third-party payment systems. This led to US District Judge Yvone Gonzalez Rogers to find Apple in civil contempt. She also issued a stronger order. This order effectively banned Apple from taking a cut made from purchases via an external link. It also added new rules on how developers could direct users to outside payment services.

Unsurprisingly, Apple isn’t thrilled. Sure, Apple deserves a cut from hosting apps on the App Store. However, at a 27% commission, it doesn’t quite make sense.

The post Apple Wants a New Judge After Epic Games Ruling — Yes, Seriously appeared first on Android Headlines.