Epic Games VS Apple is heading towards a Trial by Jury

Epic Games VS Apple

There have been new developments in the Apple VS Epic Games lawsuit. The anti-trust dispute between Epic and Apple is being overseen by the US District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers and she has proposed a trial by jury. And from the looks of it, trial by jury will likely take place next year.

For the first time since the conflict, the first hearing took place since the conflict emerged. The three-hour video conference saw both sides presenting their arguments before the judge.

The judge didn’t offer any ruling on the restraining order requested by Epic, the order that would compel Apple to restore Fortnite on the App Store. What the judge offered was to elevate this case above a single person’s ruling.

Gonzales Rogers said, “I think personally this case should be tried to a jury,” she said. “I don’t think individual judges have the be-all and end-all here.” In addition to this, she expects that the trial by jury could begin July next year.

She also added, “I think this is going to be a fascinating trial. Walled gardens have existed for decades. Nintendo has had a walled garden. Sony has had a walled garden. Microsoft has had a walled garden. In this particular industry, what Apple is doing is not much different.”

The proceedings took an interesting turn when the Judge asked Epic Games that why Epic Games finds Apple’s 30% commission fee objectionable as apparently, it is an industry-standard.

“If we look at the video game industry, the 30% seems to be the industry rate,” she said. “Steam charges 30%. GOG. Microsoft charges 30%. In the consoles, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, GameStop, Amazon, Best Buy charge 30%. [Epic] doesn’t. Where is the lack of competition?”

However, Epic Games insisted that its gamble on introducing a direct payment method proved that there was a popular demand for such an option. From August 13th to August 27th, there were more than 54% of iOS players that opted for a direct payment method.

Well, let’s see what is in store for Epic in the future. Did Epic create a hot mess in the shape of a hotfix? What do you guys think?

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