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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

Fortnite is finally back in the US App Store

by admin May 21, 2025

Fortnite is back in the US App Store. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney announced that he intended to relaunch the game in late April, following a court order that demanded Apple stop collecting a 27 percent fee on app transactions that happen outside of its in-app purchase system. The company finally amending its rules to remove that additional commission is why Epic moved forward with the relaunch.

The origins of this conflict can be traced all the way back to 2020, when Epic added its own method for collecting payments for in-game items in Fortnite and encouraged players to circumvent Apple’s system. Fortnite was removed from the App Store (and the Google Play Store for that matter), Epic sued and the rest is history.

Epic didn’t win its entire case against Apple, but it did secure a permanent injunction allowing developers to include in-app text that makes users aware of payment options other than the App Store. According to the latest court order, Apple allowed that text, but was still demanding developers pay it a fee for those non-App Store transactions. That prompted the judge overseeing the companies’ case to demand Apple stop and remove even more obstacles from the payment process.

It was anticipated that Fortnite would return far earlier than it actually did. Companies like Spotify swiftly updated their apps to take advantage of Apple’s rule change, with approved applications showing up in early May. In fact, Spotify managed to get a second update focused on Audiobooks approved before Epic was able to get Fortnite in the App Store. Today’s news comes in the wake of a Judge ordering Apple on May 19 to either resolve the matter or have the “Apple official who is personally responsible” show up in court next week to explain why.

Fortnite has technically been available on Apple devices in other ways for a while now, whether its through the Epic Game Store in the European Union, or game streaming services like Xbox Cloud Gaming and NVIDIA GeForce Now in the US. Returning to the App Store is a symbolic victory. The real prize are the court orders that came from Epic v. Apple.

Assuming they survive Apple’s appeal, they could dramatically reshape Apple’s business and the way apps work on the iPhone.

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May 21, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Fortnite Is Back On The US App Store After Nearly Five Years Away

by admin May 21, 2025

Epic’s super-popular free-to-play battle royale game, Fortnite, is finally available to download and play on the iOS App Store in the United States after being removed from it in 2020. This return to the store follows recent pressure from a federal judge urging Apple to allow Fortnite back on its digital marketplace.

Kotaku Goes Hands-On At The Apple Developer Showcase

Earlier this month, federal judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers—who has been involved with this court battle since the start—ruled that Apple can no longer take a cut from purchases made outside of apps and blocked the tech giant from restricting how developers can point people to third-party payment options. The judge also ruled that Apple must immediately stop blocking or hindering devs from including third-party payment options. This led to Epic announcing that, now that it could freely include its own payment system, it would return Fortnite to the App Store in the United States.

But Apple, which is appealing the ruling, wouldn’t provide approval for Fortnite to return as part of its standard app approval process. This move prompted Epic to request that the court step in. On Monday, Judge Rogers issued an order warning Apple that if it didn’t comply with the court’s demands, it could wind up back in court needing to explain itself.

“Apple is fully capable of resolving this issue without further briefing or a hearing,” said the judge.

“However, if the parties do not file a joint notice that this issue is resolved, and this Court’s intervention is required, the Apple official who is personally responsible for ensuring compliance shall personally appear at the hearing hereby set for Tuesday, May 27, 2025.”

Seems like, for now at least, Apple has decided to avoid another legal fight in court, and Fortnite is now back on the App Store after 1,741 days.

“We back fam,” posted Epic CEO Tim Sweeney shortly after the game went live on the App Store.

Of course, Apple is appealing the judge’s orders as it fights to control its App Store and take a cut of every transaction made in official apps on iOS devices. Apple has the resources to continue fighting in court, and I expect that this isn’t the end of this legal war between Epic and Apple that started nearly five years ago when Epic decided to sidestep Apple’s policy of taking a cut of every in-app transaction. That move led to Fortnite being removed from the App Store and the subsequent years of court battles. For now though, players can log into Fortnite on their iPhones and iPads once more.

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May 21, 2025 0 comments