March 8 (Reuters) -

Apple ( AAPL ) took a step back in its feud with Epic Games

on Friday, clearing the way for the Fortnite videogame maker to

launch its own online marketplace on iPhones and iPads in

Europe.

Earlier this week, Apple ( AAPL ) had taken steps to block Epic from

bringing back the popular game, which Apple ( AAPL ) removed from its App

Store in 2020 after Epic broke the iPhone maker's in-app payment

rules in protest.

Apple's ( AAPL ) decision to open its door to Epic follows the

European Union's Thursday deadline for Big Tech companies to

comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a set of rules that

bans Apple ( AAPL ) and Google from controlling which apps are

distributed on devices with the iOS and Android operating

systems.

Epic and Apple ( AAPL ) have been in a legal battle since 2020, when

the gaming firm alleged that Apple's ( AAPL ) practice of charging up to

30% commissions on in-app payments on its iOS devices violated

U.S. antitrust rules. Epic lost its court battle against Apple ( AAPL ),

and the game maker's bold gambit to intentionally break Apple's ( AAPL )

rules as a protest got it banned from Apple's ( AAPL ) devices.

Other Apple ( AAPL ) critics that have not purposely broken

Apple's ( AAPL ) rules - even ones such as Spotify ( SPOT ), which

earlier this week prevailed in persuading EU antitrust

regulators to impose a 1.84 billion euros ($2 billion) fine for

anticompetitive actions in the digital music market - have not

been removed Apple's ( AAPL ) App Store.

The most recent tangle between Apple ( AAPL ) and Epic involved

Apple's ( AAPL ) developer accounts, which are normally a minor but

necessary administrative step for developers before selling apps

on Apple ( AAPL ) devices.

Apple ( AAPL ) on Friday reinstated Epic Games' developer account two

days after it had blocked the company from launching its own

online marketplace on iPhones and iPads in Europe.

The game developer said it will move on with its plans to

bring the Epic Games Store and the Fortnite game back to iOS in

the continent.

"This sends a strong signal to developers that the European

Commission will act swiftly to enforce the Digital Markets Act

and hold gatekeepers accountable," Epic Games added.

Apple ( AAPL ) earlier this week said it had terminated Epic's

account because the company's actions made it doubt whether it

intended to follow the new rules Apple ( AAPL ) has set out to comply

with the DMA.

"Following conversations with Epic, they have committed to

follow the rules, including our DMA policies. As a result, Epic

Sweden AB has been permitted to re-sign the developer agreement

and accepted into the Apple Developer Program," Apple ( AAPL ) said in a

statement.