Epic-Apple Trial Ruling May Not Favour Anyone Hints District Judge

After the two companies presented their closing arguments on Monday, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers hinted that neither Apple nor Epic Games might get what they want out of their billion-dollar court fight, Bloomberg is reporting.

Gonzalez Rogers noted that she’s skeptical that Apple’s App Store allows for any “real competition,” the issue at the heart of the case, and also questioned Epic’s motives in suing to upend the App Store business model.

She implied that she wouldn’t want to help turn the Fortnite game maker from “a multibillion-dollar company into maybe a multitrillion-dollar company.” The judge continued that she plans to rule as soon as possible while all the issues are fresh in her memory, but didn’t specify a date.

The judge hinted that she was searching for a compromise around the idea that iPhone users should have the option to buy lesser-priced virtual goods and content directly from developers.

Gonzalez Rogers could “fashion something that doesn’t give Epic everything it wants but it could be something that’s less restrictive and gives Epic a partial win,” said David Kesselman, a Los Angeles-based antitrust litigator who’s not involved in the case.

It is also believed that the judge’s ruling could potentially spur action from the U.S. Justice Department examining the extent of Apple’s power as a gatekeeper to the digital economy.