In the spring of 2024, a new round of conflict erupted between Apple and several major tech companies. Meta, Microsoft, X (Twitter), and Match Group publicly sided with Epic Games in its ongoing legal battle against Apple’s decision to charge a 27% commission on payments processed outside the App Store. The dispute follows Apple’s obligation to allow third-party payment systems under recent U.S. court rulings and the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Previously, Apple retained up to 30% of all in-app transactions. While the company has now allowed developers to use external payment systems, it still imposes a 27% service fee. According to Epic and its allies, this move effectively preserves the old conditions and violates the spirit of the 2021 court ruling, which permitted developers to redirect users to alternative payment methods. Epic has already appealed to Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, seeking to compel Apple to fully comply with that decision. Both parties previously lost their appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the battle has now returned to lower courts.
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Microsoft argues that Apple’s new policy obstructs its plans to launch a mobile game store and prevents developers from offering discounts. Meta claims that Apple’s restrictions make its ad-free subscription plans more expensive on iOS than on the web. X (formerly Twitter) states that a 27% fee provides no incentive for developers to adopt alternative payments, while Match Group emphasizes that Apple’s decision harms fair competition and affects millions of developers and consumers alike.
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Apple maintains that it has fully complied with all legal requirements. Meanwhile, Epic Games is preparing to launch its own mobile game store on iOS and Android, featuring a much lower 12% commission rate, aiming to disrupt Apple’s dominance in the app economy. If you found this article interesting and useful and want more fresh updates in search engine news and internet marketing, subscribe to the search results news category to receive alerts about new publications. And if you work in SEO and website promotion and need high-quality backlinks, check out the guide on how to order manual SEO links — simply follow the link to access a verified database of trusted platforms for sponsored content placement.
