It's another day ending in 'y', which means another twist in the ongoing Epic vs Apple saga that many thought had been resolved long ago. Now, it appears that Apple, the iOS and iPhone manufacturer, may be compelled to eliminate its contentious 30% commission on links to alternative payment methods outside the App Store.

What does this mean for consumers? In essence, Apple is now decisively the loser in the original Epic vs Apple case, which began when Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, enabled players to make in-app purchases directly from Epic Games for their popular battle royale game, Fortnite, at a significant discount.

While Apple had previously been forced to remove fees and other restrictions on external linking in the EU, the rulings in the US had been more favorable to them. However, a recent ruling now prohibits Apple from doing the following:

• Imposing fees on purchases made outside an app.
• Restricting developers' placements or formatting of links.
• Limiting the use of 'calls to action,' such as banners that inform users about potential savings.
• Excluding certain apps or developers.
• Interfering with consumer choice through 'scare screens.'
• Using anything other than 'neutral messaging' to inform users they are navigating to a third-party site.

In short, while Epic may have lost a few battles, it has essentially won the war. Apple intends to appeal the decision, but overturning these rulings seems unlikely.

With the Epic Games Store for mobile now established on Android and iOS in the EU, and on Android in the US, it may be only a matter of time before the iOS App Store's dominance wanes.