More revelations have been made in the ongoing trial between Epic Games and Apple. Today, Michael Schmid, Head of Games Business Development for the Apple App Store, gave his testimony. In a Bloomberg report, Schmid was quoted to have said that during the two years before Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store in 2020, the game grossed $100 million for the US tech giant through commissions.
The fine details of the dynamics that yielded the said amount to Apple and the exact figure were left out by Schmid in his testimony, however. When he was asked whether Apple made over $200 million from the Game, Schmid responded that it would be inappropriate for him to answer the specific question.
Apple removed the game from the app store after Epic; the game developer violated its app store regulations by creating an in-app payment platform for Fortnite players. This was in a bid to bypass the 30% commission charged by Apple for such payments. Some industry experts have already estimated that Apple could have grossed more than $350 million from the game. On the other hand, Epic challenges the huge commission Apple is receiving from app developers and is accusing Apple of being a monopoly.
The App Store has been a massive money-spinner for Apple over the years. Last year alone, it made over $22 billion from the store via commissions. The trial is being followed keenly by many other companies who have continued to question what has now been termed Apple tax. This week may mark the high point of the trial, which is already winding down. Apple CEO Tim Cook will testify on Friday in what could further illuminate the issue. Cook has been granted permission by the trial judge to be the first to mount the stand on Friday as the tech giant concludes its arguments. Monday will see Epic also making its final submissions before judgment is delivered.
The trial is a bench trial and so the Judge will deliver judgment without a jury. Whichever way the judgment swing, it will have a far-reaching effect on the entire mobile hardware and software communities.
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