The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to protect Google from a year-old order requiring a major makeover of its Android app store.

Epic Games has won a partial victory in an Australian court against Google and Apple.

A three-judge appeals panel rejected Apple’s request to pause an April 30 order banning the company from charging a fee on in-app iPhone transactions processed outside its once-exclusive payment system in a two-page decision issued late Thursday.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has portrayed Google as a ruthless bully that resorts to shady tactics to protect a predatory payment system.

Tim Sweeney, CEO of Fortnite maker Epic, said Wednesday it's been told by Apple that the game will be “blacklisted from the Apple ecosystem" until the companies' legal case is resolved and all appeals are exhausted, which could take as long as five years.

If Epic Games hopes to dismantle the fortress surrounding Apple’s iPhone and its app store, the video game maker probably will need to roll out some heavier artillery heading into the second week of a trial threatening Apple’s $2 trillion empire.

(CNN) - Fortnite maker Epic Games said it would allow its esports players to express political beliefs in support of Hong Kong democracy protesters, despite its partial ownership by Chinese tech giant Tencent. Responding to Twitter users Wednesday, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said if a famous Twitch streamer like Tfue or Ninja hypothetically shouted "Free Hong Kong," there would be no repercussions from Epic. "China players of Fortnite are free to criticize the US or criticize Epic just as equally as all others." Its rival Activision Blizzard received flak from gamers around the world after it disqualified and banned a "Hearthstone" player for shouting a popular Hong Kong protest slogan. On Tuesday, Blizzard said player Ng "Blitzchung" Wai Chung violated competition rules when he shouted "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" during a livestreamed post-match interview.