The battle between Apple and Epic Games will be decided by the end of this year

Attorneys for the two companies participated in a pre-trial discussion chaired by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez on March 2. The discussion focused on the content of the upcoming trial and the timing of the hearing. The trial is set to begin May 3.

The dispute began in August 2020, when Apple remove Fortnite from the store AppStore after Epic introduced a new payment method, eliminating Apple’s 30% fee. Epic filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming that Apple’s 30% commission rate is too large, “unfair and restricts competition.”
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The trial is an opportunity for Apple to defend its interests against Epic’s allegations, proving that the prices on the AppStore are fair and do not restrict competition. Apple even requested to summon Valve as a witness in order to find some information to support their argument. However, Valve declined this request.

Judge Gonzalez said the case was influential enough to be heard in a face-to-face trial, which limits witnesses’ ability to lie. However, the trial will be conducted on Zoom if the COVID-19 epidemic situation is still complicated.
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Judge Gonzalez expects the trial to last two to three weeks, but Epic wants to stretch it to four to five weeks. However, the exact time frame of the trial has not yet been determined.​