A US judge has issued an injunction in the Epic vs Apple case, ordering the Cupertino giant to allow app developers the option to take alternative payments, other than through Apple itself.

Part of the Epic vs Apple case, the order states that Apple is "permanently restrained and enjoined from prohibiting developers from including in their apps and their metadata buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms". Basically, Apple can no longer force developers to only offer in-app purchasing via Apple's own monetary system. They will be able to effectively circumnavigate the fee paid to Apple per purchase (generally around 30 per cent).

This was the main argument in the Epic case, with the Fortnite studio being warned and then banned for offering discounts to fans if they purchased in-game currency outside of the iOS app.

The entire judgment can be seen here, as posted by The Verge. It could also have a significant impact on Google, which is also currently embroiled in its own court case with Epic Games. That too is about offering alternative payment methods and links inside apps.

Interestingly, the ruling also reveals that 70 per cent of app store revenue comes from games, so if neither Apple nor Google can make as much from the in-app purchases we wonder if there will be significant changes in the way it pushes certain apps in future.

Time will tell on that front. For now, this could be the first important step in getting Fortnite back onto an iPhone and iPad. Just don't hold your breath in the meantime though.