Apple, Epic Games to go head-to-head in highly-anticipated antitrust trial

The showdown begins.
(Image credit: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

On Monday, a judge will begin hearing arguments in the highly-anticipated trial between Apple and Epic Games, the maker of the popular game Fortnite.

The conflict stems from an August incident, when Epic Games added a direct payment mechanism to Fortnite, bypassing Apple's requirement that its app makers and customers process all payments through Apple's system, which collects a 30 percent fee. Apple's App Store removed Fortnite for violating its terms, and Epic Games announced its antitrust lawsuit almost immediately afterward, citing "yet another example of Apple flexing its enormous power in order to impose unreasonable restraints and unlawfully maintain its 100 percent monopoly over the iOS In-App Payment Processing Market."

The trial, which is expected to last about three weeks, will involve both Epic's founder and CEO Tim Sweeney and Apple CEO Tim Cook taking the stand, The Washington Post reports. The result of the legal challenge "could remake the future of the digital economy," CNN writes.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.