Apple has notably compromised with Netflix and a few others. Epic may well have expected to lose, but they may well have thought that (1) they were big enough

Apple has notably compromised with Netflix and a few others. Epic may well have expected to lose, but they may well have thought that (1) they were big enough - search suggests Fortnite iOS revenue was slightly bigger than Netflix — and, (2) Apple was vulnerable enough after Basecamp and with antitrust, that they could force them to the table with the threat of another, much larger PR shitstorm hanging over their fall launches.