Apple and Epic pause App Store battle as case heads to Supreme Court

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has agreed to push back key deadlines in the legal battle between Apple and Epic Games over App Store commissions, while Apple seeks to pause the case entirely until the US Supreme Court issues its ruling.

According to 9to5Mac, the two companies jointly asked the court to delay the deadlines, a rare moment of agreement between the longtime legal rivals.

For now, the decision only postpones deadlines rather than putting the entire case on hold. A full stay would require a separate formal motion from Apple and approval from the judge. If granted, proceedings in the lower court would be frozen until the Supreme Court rules. If Apple’s request is denied, the case will continue, including the question of what commission, if any, Apple may charge on purchases made through external payment links.

The dispute dates back to 2020, when Epic Games sued Apple over the App Store’s 30% commission and restrictions on alternative payment methods. Apple prevailed on nine of the ten claims, but lost on its anti-steering rules, which prevented developers from directing users to external payment options. The court ordered Apple to allow such links.

Apple complied by allowing external links but imposed a 27% commission on purchases made through them, with some developers subject to a 12% rate. In April 2025, Judge Gonzalez Rogers found that Apple had violated the court’s injunction and held the company in contempt. Since then, Apple has stopped charging commissions on purchases made through external links in the US App Store.

Apple challenged that interpretation and took the dispute to the Supreme Court. On June 30, the court agreed to hear the appeal, with arguments expected during its next term, which begins in October.

The Supreme Court will consider two questions. The first is whether a company can be held in contempt for violating an injunction when the disputed conduct was not explicitly prohibited by its wording. The second is whether the injunction should apply to all developers in the United States or only to Epic Games.

Epic, meanwhile, argues that Apple is deliberately dragging out the case. The game developer claims Apple’s “malicious compliance” has delayed the return of competition for more than two years while allowing the company to collect billions of dollars through excessive commissions.