Will Fortnite ever return to Apple iOS? Epic reveals App Store plans

❘ Published: 2024-01-25T22:34:34

Epic Games / Apple

iOS users have been hoping for Fortnite to return since years now.

A new European law is bringing Fortnite back to Apple Devices, but American fans will still have to wait.

There’s a lot of confusing legal jargon being thrown around after Epic’s latest legal victory, but the thrust remains the same: Fortnite will return to iOS stores. Sort of.

The change greatly impacts European users, who will finally be able to play Fortnite on an iOS device for the first time in years. However, American audiences may still have a wait ahead of them – assuming it ever returns.

Here’s a quick rundown of why Fornite isn’t on the US App Store and how that could change.

Why isn’t Fortnite on the US Apple App Store?

Fortnite was removed from the iOS App Store in 2020 as part of a massive scandal between Apple and Epic Games.

The game, which launched for mobile devices in 2018, was actually removed from both Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store at the same time. Epic had instilled its own in-game store to allow players to purchase V-Bucks in an effort to circumvent commissions both stores instilled on in-app purchases such as micro-transactions.

A scandal involving attempts to circumvent App Store fees led to Fortnite being removed from mobile platforms.

These commissions are nothing new and have been a headache for some time. They’ve seen some subscriptions, such as the recent changes to Twitch, cost more when purchased on an app versus a website in an effort to offset the cost of the fees. Others, like Netflix, simply don’t let you subscribe on a mobile device, directing you to a website instead.

After being removed from the App Store, Epic filed suit against Apple and Google, citing the practice stifled competition. Epic actually won the Google lawsuit in December 2023, with Google Play’s billing systems found to be an illegal monopoly. (As of this writing, Fortnite has not returned to the Google Play store, either).

However, prior to the Google win, Apple mostly won its lawsuit against Epic. A San Francisco judge ruled that Apple must allow users more ways to pay in the App Store. However, the bulk of Epic’s claims were dismissed. An appeal to the Supreme Court to review the case was also rejected.

How will Fortnite come to European iOS devices?

A 2023 legal victory in Europe is paving the way for Fortnite to return to iOS devices.

The European Union instilled new rules via the Digital Markets Act, which opened up for Epic to bring the game back to iOS devices. The DMA is intended to prevent large online platforms from being “gatekeepers” and ensure such platforms “behave in a fair way online.”

📣 Fortnite is coming back to iOS in Europe this year! 📣

Via our soon to launch @EpicGames Store for iOS thanks to new rules in Europe via the new Digital Markets Act (DMA), stay tuned for more details. https://t.co/7nOa2lcdhN
— Epic Games Store (@EpicGames) January 25, 2024

Apple has since announced it would implement changes to its App Store to accommodate these changes beginning in March 2024. The changes will enable sideloading apps (installing an app from an API rather than an app store) and installing alternate app stores.

However, Apple will continue to implement a processing fee for developers that use Apple’s in-app payment system, as well as a slew of additional fees. Among these is a Core Technology Fee, which would charge roughly €0.50 for every annual app install once an app reaches a million annual installs.

On Twitter, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney spoke about DMA and how Epic opposes Apple’s continued attempts to dictate the terms of how stores function under the new law.

Apple's plan to thwart Europe's new Digital Markets Act law is a devious new instance of Malicious Compliance.

They are forcing developers to choose between App Store exclusivity and the store terms, which will be illegal under DMA, or accept a new also-illegal anticompetitive…
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) January 25, 2024

“Epic has always supported the notion of Apple notarization and malware scanning for apps,” Sweeny tweets, “but we strongly reject Apple’s twisting this process to undermine competition and continue imposing Apple taxes on transactions they’re not involved in.”

Fortnite will not return to iOS directly, but rather will be playable on iOS via an Epic Games Store app. As of this writing, more details are forthcoming.

Will Fortnite ever return to the US App Store?

There’s currently no word on an agreement to bring Fortnite back to the US App Store.

The road to getting Fortnite back on iOS has thus far proven to be a tumultuous one. Epic was actually informed they had been blacklisted from iOS in 2021. As of this writing, it is presumed that the blacklist remains in effect; according to Sweeney’s comments in 2021, resolving the blacklist could take upwards of five years.

Fortnite may not return to the App Store for some time, but there are workarounds.

Much like how Epic handles Fortnite on Google Play-supported devices, there are a number of work-arounds to play Fortnite on iOS, including Xbox Cloud Gaming and NVIDIA’s GeForce Now app.

You can find detailed instructions in our guide for how to play Fortnite on an iOS device.