Marking a major shift in the ongoing legal battle with Epic Games, Apple has lost its latest attempt to delay changes to its App Store. On June 4, 2025, a U.S. federal appeals court rejected Apple’s urgent request to pause a court order that forces the tech giant to open its App Store to more competition and alternative payment options.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Apple’s plea to delay enforcement of a ruling by U.S. District judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. The judge had previously found Apple in contempt for trying to sidestep an earlier injunction from the Epic Games case.
In the judge’s decision, the appeals court stated, “Apple bears the burden of showing that the circumstances justify an exercise of [our] discretion. After reviewing the relevant factors, we are not persuaded that a stay is appropriate.”
This conflict between Epic Games, the creator of “Fortnite” and Apple began in 2020 when Epic Games sued the tech giant over its App Store rules. The Fortnite maker challenged Apple’s policy that required all iOS app purchases to go through Apple’s payment system, which charges developers a commission of up to 30%. Epic Games argued that these rules limited competition and led to higher prices for consumers.
The dispute then escalated when Epic bypassed Apple’s payment system in “Fortnite,” which resulted in the game being removed from the App Store. This gave birth to a high-profile legal battle.
In 2021, Judge Gonzalez Rogers ruled that while Apple did not hold an illegal monopoly, it must allow developers to direct users to alternative payment options. However, Apple responded by introducing a new 27% fee for developers, imposing strict limits on how and where external payment links could appear, as well as pushing users to pay outside the App Store.
As a result, in April 2025, Judge Gonzalez Rogers found Apple in contempt of her earlier order, stating that the tech giant had “defied” the injunction to protect billions of dollars in App Store revenue. The judge also accused Apple of misleading the court about its compliance efforts and referred the company and one of its executives to federal prosecutors for possible criminal contempt.
Judge Rogers then ordered Apple to immediately stop practices that limited where developers could direct users to make purchases outside their apps and to eliminate the 27% fee on external transactions. The appeals court’s refusal to pause the order means Apple must now allow developers to guide users to alternative payment systems. This change has already led to a surge in competition, with developers like Amazon and Spotify updating their apps to bypass Apple’s commission and offer better deals to consumers.
For example, Amazon’s Kindle app now features a “Get Book” button that takes users directly to Amazon’s website for purchases, while Spotify’s iOS app in the U.S. allows users to choose payment options beyond Apple pay. According to Spotify, this update boosted conversions from free to premium subscriptions.
However, Apple has expressed disagreement with the court’s decision and said it would continue to pursue its appeal. An Apple spokesperson said in a statement, “We are disappointed with the decision not to stay the district court’s order, and we’ll continue to argue our case during the appeals process.”
“As we’ve said before, we strongly disagree with the district court’s opinion. Our goal is to ensure the App Store remains an incredible opportunity for developers and a safe and trusted experience for our user.”
Despite Apple’s strong objections, the company must now comply with the court’s order, which significantly weakens its control over how payments are handled in the App Store.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney celebrated the decision, posting on X, “Apple’s stay is denied by the 9th Circuit Court. The long national nightmare of the Apple tax is ended.”
This ruling is a major win for Epic Games and other developers who have fought against Apple’s tight control over iOS app distribution and payment flows. As a matter of fact, this conflict comes after the tech giant was ordered by the European Union (EU) to open up its strictly controlled iOS ecosystem and enable interoperability for both consumers and app developers under the EU Digital Markets Act.
