Apple Generated Over $100 Million Revenue From Epic’s Fortnite

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Apple Inc. generated more than $100 million in revenue from commissions collected from offering Fortnite on the App Store, an employee of the iPhone maker testified Wednesday.

Michael Schmid, who works as head of App Store business development for gaming, provided a rough revenue estimate Wednesday during the ongoing trial with Epic Games Inc. in Oakland, California. Schmid wouldn’t specify an exact dollar amount and declined to say if the revenue was more than $200 million, saying it would be “inappropriate” to share that information. Epic’s Fortnite launched on the App Store in 2018 and was present until Apple removed it last year.

Sensor Tower, the mobile-app market data firm, made a considerably higher estimate last year. Fortnite players have spent almost $1.2 billion through Apple’s App Store, generating revenue of about $354 million for Apple, the firm said.

Schmid said Apple spent $1 million in marketing for Fortnite during its last 11 months on the App Store. Epic’s lawyer, Lauren Moskowitz characterized the $1 million spent for $100 million in revenue as a good deal.

When Fortnite was on the App Store, Apple took 30% commissions from the blockbuster game for in-app-upgrades.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.