Apple is preparing to take the App Store and Epic Games dispute back to the Supreme Court. The iPhone maker said in a new filing that it plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider another aspect of the long-running lawsuit over App Store fees.
Meanwhile, Apple is seeking a stay of an appeals court ruling that limits how it charges external payments.
As a refresher, Apple has been engaged in a years-long legal battle against Fortnite maker Epic Games after the game maker added external payments to its apps in 2020 to avoid Apple’s App Store fees. Apple almost won its case in 2021 when a court ruled that Apple is not a monopoly. However, the judge noted that Apple must allow developers to link to external payment options.
The tech giant appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case and allowed the Ninth Circuit’s original ruling to stand. As a result, Apple began allowing external payments, but charged developers who used its own payment system a 27% fee on those purchases. This is only a small discount from Apple’s regular 30% commission. (Meanwhile, Google, which is facing a similar lawsuit, settled with Epic Games last month and lowered its Play Store fees to 20%.)
Epic Games argued that such fees did not comply with the court order. They and other developers couldn’t save money either, since payment processing comes with its own fees.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California agreed with Epic and held Apple in contempt. This decision was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in December 2025. The appeals court said Apple’s 27% fee on external payments effectively defeats the purpose of allowing external payments, but did not suggest a new tax rate. The decision will now go back to the lower courts to be decided. (Apple requested a review of this decision, but that request was denied in March 2026.)
Apple has no other options within the Ninth Circuit, so it plans to take the case to the Supreme Court.
If the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, Apple is expected to challenge the legal standard used to hold the company in contempt and try to convince the justices that courts should not be allowed to limit the fees it can charge for its services. The company has long maintained that the 27% fee is not for payment processing, but for other services such as hosting, discovery, software and developer tools. Essentially, this is a fee that Apple believes reflects the value of the App Store ecosystem.
However, the Supreme Court declined to hear Apple’s earlier appeal, which focused on a different aspect of the case, so it is very likely that it will reject this appeal as well. The issue is now back in lower courts, which will decide what fees, if any, Apple can charge for purchases made outside the App Store.
When this battle is ultimately concluded, the court’s decision could impact how much money Apple makes from the App Store, as consumers increasingly rely on AI chatbots and agents to get things done.
Reached for comment, Epic Games spokeswoman Natalie Muñoz said Apple’s motion to stay is “another delaying tactic to prevent courts from placing significant and permanent limits on Apple’s ability to charge junk fees on third-party payments.”
“Courts have ruled this is illegal many times,” she added. “Epic has heard this firsthand from many developers trying to compete with Apple by offering Web Shops and similar features. As a result of Apple’s tactics, only a few brave developers, including Spotify, Kindle, and Patreon, have taken advantage of this right to benefit consumers. We will continue to stand up to Apple’s attempts to undermine competition.”
Updated with Epic’s comment after publication.
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