Apple has launched a scathing counterattack against Epic after the Fortnite maker filed a preliminary injunction in a bid to get its popular battle royale title reinstated on the App Store. 

Epic intends to officially file the injunction on September 28, 2020, and hopes the move will force Apple to allow Fortnite back onto the App Store. 

Outlining its position in the document, Epic claimed that Apple is inflicting "irreparable damage" to its reputation by blocking Fortnite, and accused the iPhone maker of quashing "competitive app distribution and competitive payment processing on iOS."

Apple, however, disagrees. In a 37-page opposition (highlighted by Engadget) the company said Epic has "started a fire, and poured gasoline on it," referencing the fact that it only removed Fortnite from the App Store after Epic violated its guidelines by adding a third-party payment method. 

"Epic cannot demonstrate any irreparable injury, which is reason enough to deny its preliminary injunction motion." reads the opposition, posted on CourtlListener. "Epic started a fire, and poured gasoline on it, and now asks this court for emergency assistant in putting it out, even though Epic can do so itself in an instant by simply adhering to the contractual terms that have profitably governed its relationship with Apple for years." 

Apple goes on to claim that "Epic's asserted harm is the self-inflicted and self-fixable result of its own cheating and breach and thus not irreparable," and posits that the only reason third-party developers could be hurt by its sanctions is because "Epic is sacrificing them to advance its own commercial interests." 

The company also floats the idea that the entire legal battle is part of an elaborate "marketing campaign designed to reinvigorate interest in Fortnite," and claims that interest in the title has dipped by 70 percent since October 2019. 

You can read the full document by clicking right here. It'll be interesting to see how the court responds to Apple's latest arguments, and whether Epic continues to push ahead with its injunction later this month.