Over the course of the Epic v. Apple case, much has come to light about how both companies generate profit. One of the biggest shocks comes from the closing ruling of the case, which reveals that 70% of the App Store’s money comes from games.
This lawsuit was brought by Epic Games in August 2020. The general gist of the case is that Epic added a payment system to Fortnite mobile that allowed players to avoid an extra 30% fee usually applied to App Store purchases, which goes to Apple. In response to the workaround, Apple removed Fortnite from its marketplace, which prompted Epic to take the matter to court.
The case has officially wrapped up, with both Apple and Epic getting something from the final ruling. Most interestingly, information about Apple’s revenue model was unmasked to the general public at the end. The ruling reveals that gaming apps are the source of around 70% of the entirety of the App Store’s earnings. Even more astounding is the fact that the 70% is made up of less than 10% of all App Store consumers.
That staggering percentage comes partly from the 30% revenue cut taken by Apple from app purchases in the App Store. Even before this hearing, users and developers alike have claimed the system is unfair to smaller developers.
Though the court case found that Epic Games wasn’t able to give solid evidence of Apple being monopolistic, it did gain a small victory. The ruling states that Apple must allow developers to direct app users to outside payment options beyond those that Apple promotes.
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