Apple, Epic Games return to court in app store dispute

Apple is set to appear before the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on October 21, 2025 contesting a court order that requires it to allow links to alternative payment options in its app store.

This latest hearing is part of a dispute with Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, that has lasted over five years.

Apple is appealing an April decision from US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who ruled the company “willfully” defied a 2021 order to let developers direct users to outside payment methods.

The ruling prevents Apple from charging commissions on payments made outside the app store and limits restrictions on how developers guide customers to external sites.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

A $10 billion US App Store revenue base faces uncertainty after a court order allowing external payment links

Apple’s US App Store brought in about $10 billion in 2024 per Appfigures 1, which feeds a big revenue stream because Apple collects commissions on digital sales.
The April 2025 ruling blocks Apple from charging its previous 27% commission on off-App Store transactions and from restricting how developers design external payment links for the US App Store 2.
Fortnite and Spotify have shipped or are shipping updates that enable external payment options 2, which could push more transactions outside Apple’s commission take.
The impact hinges on adoption by high grossing apps 1. If a slice of top earners redirect purchases externally, Apple could lose billions in high margin commission revenue.

Payment tools can win new business by reaching apps that still lack external links

Developers now need payment orchestration (tools that route transactions across multiple processors) and subscription billing 3. They also need mobile web checkout to process transactions outside Apple’s system, which creates near term demand for specialized payment vendors.
Stripe, a payment processing company, can offer unified flows across web and mobile 4, which helps developers keep more revenue by avoiding Apple’s App Store commissions on off-app purchases in the US.
Payment vendors can map which high grossing iOS apps have added external payment links and which have not. That enables a focused outreach list.
Small developers and indie studios (independent game studios) with slim margins 4 have strong incentive. Keeping more of each transaction by avoiding Apple’s 15 to 30% fees on in app purchases in the US can improve per transaction profitability.