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Fortnite is back on the US App Store, as Epic and Apple’s legal battle royale over it concludes with a 55-year-old exec tweeting the word “fam”

by admin May 21, 2025

Fortnite’s available on iOS in the US again, with Epic and Apple’s legal tussle over it seemingly having concluded, at least for now. Epic Games has at least managed to get one of the outcomes it wanted out of all the hoohah, and its CEO has reponded as only he could – by letting all know we’re his “fam”.

As we’ve recently chromicled, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney launched a fresh effort to get Apple to agree to re-admit the game to its App Store following a judge issuing a pretty damning verdict against the fruit company earlier this month. The suit was actually all about payment options and the cut Apple takes of them, in case you’ve forgotten in the five years it’s rumbled on for.

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Now, though, tensions have seemigly cooled, with the two sides having concluded their bickering over Fortnite’s return to the US App Store by filing a joint notice stating they have “resolved all issues”. That’s after Epic went back to the judge presiding over the case in response to the initial trouble it appeared to be having getting the game through Apple’s review process.

“Fortnite is BACK on the App Store in the U.S. on iPhones and iPads…and on the Epic Games Store and AltStore in the E.U,” Epic has since announced, “It’ll show up in Search soon!”

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“We back fam,” Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, a 55-year-old exec, tweeted in response to the game making its comeback. Am I being a bit harsh suggesting that it’s a bit embarrassing for someone firmly in the dad to grandad age range to be using the word fam in reference to them getting their way in some legal wranglings over who gets the cash people spend on games that turned into an argument over one game returning to one storefront? Maybe, but does have a very ‘How do you do, fellow kids’ feel to it.

Folks in the EU have been able to enjoy iOS Fortnite again for a little while now, but this is a big day for Apple users in the states who’ve been having to get their mobile Fortnite fix by listening to this song on repeat.

You can finally talk to the AI Darth Vader that’s led Epic and Llama Productions to have an unfair labour practice charge filed against them by SAG-AFTRA.

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May 21, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

Fortnite is finally back on Apple’s App Store … sort of

by admin May 21, 2025

After being unceremoniously booted off Apple’s App Store in 2020, Epic Games’ Fortnite is finally back.

Take note, though — it’ll only show up on iPhones and iPads for searches made within the U.S., at least for now.

The return of Fortnite marks the end of a nearly five-year ban caused by Epic Games’ implementation of a direct payment system that bypassed Apple’s in-app purchase fees, an act that violated the tech giant’s App Store rules.

In a message posted on X on Tuesday, Epic Games’ founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said: “Thanks to everyone who supported the effort to open up mobile competition and #FreeFortnite from the very beginning.”

Sweeney added: “And thanks to all of the folks who initially sided with Apple then later came around to the winning side, supporting app developer rights and consumer rights.”

Epic Games has been battling away in the courts to get the popular title back on the App Store. It scored a big win at the end of last month when a U.S. court ruling forced Apple to allow apps to include external payment links without charging commissions on those transactions.

After Epic Games recently submitted Fortnite for inclusion in the U.S. App Store, Apple has finally approved it, though not before some additional legal issues and delays just last week.

If you search for Fortnite on the App Store outside of the U.S., however, it still won’t show up as Apple continues to fight in other regions. But in the European Union, for example, the game continues to be accessible via alternative platforms such as the Epic Games Store and AltStore.

Fortnite was allowed back on the U.S. App Store after the recent court ruling found that Apple had violated a previous injunction in 2021 by continuing to restrict competition and prohibit alternative payment methods in its App Store. The judge ordered Apple to comply with the earlier order, forcing it to allow Fortnite’s return and to permit external payment links in apps.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers made several scathing comments about Apple in her ruling last month, criticizing the tech behemoth for deliberately undermining her 2021 injunction, saying that Apple aimed to “sustain a revenue stream worth billions in blatant violation of this court’s injunction.”

She even went so far as to refer an Apple executive to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation into their conduct in the case.

The Fortnite saga was essentially a landmark battle over digital marketplace power, one that shone a light on the struggle between app developers and platform owners like Apple in areas of control, competition, and the right to offer alternative payment options outside walled-garden ecosystems.

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May 21, 2025 0 comments

Esports

Fortnite finally returns to App Store after Apple’s delay

by admin May 21, 2025

As of May 20, 2025, Fortnite has officially returned to the US iOS App Store worldwide following a public back-and-forth between Epic Games and Apple.

It’s no secret Epic and Apple have been at arms for the past half-decade. It was August, 2020 when the game publisher pulled its massively popular Battle Royale from the iOS App Store in effort to take a stand against Apple’s commissions on in-app purchases like V-Bucks.

After a lengthy legal process, it was only on May 1, 2025 that Epic won out. Apple was ordered to stop imposing commissions on in-app purchases via web links. Though the public scuffle didn’t stop when the judge’s hammer fell.

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Despite promising Fortnite would return to the App Store within a week, Apple’s review process saw that didn’t happen. Though now, after even more back and forth in the public eye, peace has come to pass. Fortnite is indeed once again available on the App Store in the U.S.

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Fortnite finally returns on iOS App Store in the US

At the tail end of court proceedings, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found Apple to have “outright lied under oath.” As such, the company was not only ordered to forego its commission on in-app purchases across the board, but Apple was even considered for criminal contempt.

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“Apple’s 15-30% junk fees are now just as dead here in the US as they are in Europe. Unlawful here, unlawful there,” Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said on X (formerly Twitter), declaring victory at the time.

Sweeney also assured Fortnite would return to the App Store within a week of the decision being announced. However, it didn’t all go according to plan.

Although Apple’s review process claims “90% of submissions are reviewed in less than 24 hours,” that wasn’t the case for Epic’s new submission of Fortnite. Nearly 120 hours passed before Epic was informed its resubmission had actually been blocked.

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“We cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it,” the official Fortnite account shared on social media.

For context, Epic removed all versions of Fortnite from review as the game had recently been met with a new update, changing seasonal content and the like. As Epic insists on all platforms having the exact same version of the game, it means having to resubmit a new version of the application for review by Apple.

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Apple fired back, claiming it asked Epic Sweden to resubmit the app update without including the US storefront so as to not impact Fortnite in other geographies. What ensued was another public tirade.

As of May 19, 2025, the judge said in a filing that Apple is “fully capable of resolving this issue without further briefing or a hearing.” Should that not have been the case, whoever at Apple was “responsible for ensuring compliance” would have been asked to attend another court hearing.

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Clearly, this legal threat worked out as Fortnite has indeed passed its resubmission and is now available on the US’ iOS App Store once again.

Epic GamesAs seen in the new version of Fortnite on iOS devices, players are incentivized to buy V-Bucks directly through Epic.

Furthermore, now that Fortnite is available on iOS devices, Epic is pushing players towards in-app purchases through its own means, rather than through Apple’s services. When looking to purchase V-Bucks in the game, fans can earn 20% back in Epic Rewards credit if they buy through Epic’s own method.

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May 21, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

Apple’s WWDC 2025 keynote will be June 9 at 1PM ET

by admin May 20, 2025

Apple has sent the invites for its in-person WWDC 2025 festivities on Monday, June 9, featuring the keynote session at 1PM ET/10AM PT. Attendees will be able to watch the keynote presentation at the company’s Cupertino campus, as well as meet with developers and participating in special activities. For everyone who hasn’t received an invite to Apple Park, the keynote will stream online. Developers can also participate in the rest of WWDC’s programming online for free.

We’ve already got pretty high hopes for the keynote announcements, with a lot of potential news expected about the upcoming redesign for iOS 19. We’ve heard that the operating system could have features including AI-powered battery management and improved public Wi-Fi sign ins, and our own Nathan Ingraham has penned an impassioned plea for a normal letter “a” in the Notes app. The full WWDC conference runs from June 9-13.

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May 20, 2025 0 comments