Gaming Stocks Skyrocket, Apple Drops After Judge's Order To Loosen App Payment System

Gaming developer AppLovin's stock skyrocketed over 10% after a California judge ordered Apple to loosen control of in-app purchases.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers' ruling on Epic Games’ antitrust case banned Apple, which takes up to 30% of revenue from its in-app sales, from restricting developers from including "external links or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms."

Dan Burkhart, CEO of Recurly, a billing platform that processes app transactions, told CNBC that the judge’s ruling will allow companies to “dramatically increase revenues and reduce their cost of goods.”

“Gaming companies are certainly going to be one of the most significant beneficiaries of this. Streaming media, entertainment and publishing — these categories are all going to greatly benefit,” Burkhart said.

AppLovin was not the only gaming stock to soar. Playtika and Zynga rose over 6% while Roblox gained almost 3%.

The lawsuit also boosted other companies that use Apple’s App Store, including Spotify, Match Group and Duolingo.

While game developers celebrated, Apple suffered two blows: the 3% sink of its stock and the now-forgotten launch of its new devices on Sept. 13.

“For Apple, today and this weekend was supposed to be all about pre-iPhone 13 and Apple Watch Series 7 hype and speculation. Instead, its grip on the App Store loosened with the judge forcing Apple to allow all apps and games to steer users to outside payment methods,” Apple columnist Mark Gurman tweeted.

App Store and Epic Games are now trending on Twitter, with users sharing their thoughts on what many are calling an “epic” ruling.