Apple returned fire in a legal battle with Epic Games, filing a lawsuit accusing the Fortnite creator of breach of contract and seeking financial compensation for violation of App Store rules.

The vendor asked a court to issue a permanent injunction on Epic Games operating an in-app payment system, and hand over “all earnings, profits, compensation, benefits, and other ill-gotten gains”.

Epic Games introduced a direct payment option to Fortnite in August: Apple then removed the game citing breach of App Store rules.

In the legal move, Apple argued the payment system was a “commission-theft functionality” which the game maker “deliberately concealed from Apple’s app review process”.

It played down the situation as “nothing more than a basic disagreement over money”, adding Epic Games “simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store”.

Epic Games recently argued Apple’s ban posed a risk to its earnings and user numbers.