Apple defeats Epic’s effort to restore Fortnite on App Store

Apple Inc. was spared from having to immediately reinstate Epic Games Inc.’s Fortnite on its App Store, an early court victory for the iPhone maker in an intensifying battle over the tolls charged to app makers.

But U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’s ruling late Monday wasn’t a total loss for Epic, as she granted the company’s request for a temporary order blocking Apple from limiting the game developer’s ability to provide Unreal Engine, key graphics technology, for other apps.

The mixed ruling comes as Apple faces a backlash from some app developers who say its standard App Store fee of 30% and other policies are unfair and designed to benefit the iPhone maker’s own services.