Apple Must Restore Unreal Engine For Now, But 'Fortnite' Proves An Epic Fail With Court

In a mixed ruling, Epic Games Inc. secured interim relief against Apple Inc’s AAPL move to terminate its developer accounts that include the company’s “Unreal Engine” development platform, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

What Happened: The iPhone maker also secured a partial win as it will not have to restore "Fortnite" on its App Store, according to Bloomberg.

Federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers took a view that both companies are free to litigate against each other, but "dispute should not create havoc to bystanders."

The Judge said during the hearing earlier that she saw Epic’s request through “two lenses.”

On one side was the harm caused to the Wisconsin-based developer’s own games, and on the other, the harm caused to hundreds of third-party games if Unreal Engine isn't maintained due to Apple’s termination of Epic’s developer accounts, according to Reuters.

The federal judge has set a Sept. 28 hearing on the game maker's request for a preliminary injunction and said that her temporary restraining order won't dictate the final outcome of the case, as per Bloomberg.

Why It Matters: On Sunday, Microsoft Corporation MSFT came out on the side of Epic in its legal battle with the Tim Cook-led company.

The Washington-based tech giant’s General Manager of Gaming Developer Experiences Kevin Gammill described Unreal Engine as a “critical technology” for game makers.

Facebook Inc FB and Microsoft have both been unsuccessful in launching their gaming apps on the App Store due to alleged violations of the marketplace’s terms.

Epic’s game “Fortnite” was taken down from both Apple and Alphabet Inc GOOGL GOOG app stores this month after the game maker tried to circumvent the 30% commission the stores charge on in-game purchases.

Price Action: Apple shares closed 1.20% higher at $503.43 on Monday and gained almost 0.5% in the after-hours session.