Epic Games says Fortnite back on Apple's US App Store

Epic Games on Tuesday said its hit game "Fortnite" has returned to Apple's digital App Store after being sidelined for years due to a legal battle with the iPhone maker.

"Fortnite is BACK on the App Store in the US on iPhones and iPads... and on the Epic Games Store and AltStore in the EU!" the game maker proclaimed in a post on X.

Last week, "Fortnite" became unavailable on the App Store around the world, apparently as the result of an updated version of the game being rejected by Apple.

While Fortnite with its millions of daily players had already been unavailable to iPhone users in the United States, the block on downloads of the cartoonish multiplayer shooter affected the entire globe.

Epic put out word at the time that Fornite would be offline worldwide until Apple unblocked it.

While Apple did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Tuesday, it said previously it had asked Epic in Sweden to resubmit its app update "without including the US storefront of the App Store so as not to impact Fortnite in other geographies."

"We did not take any action to remove the live version of Fortnite from alternative distribution marketplaces," an Apple spokesperson said.

North Carolina-based Epic has battled tech giants for years over the commissions they charge for software downloaded through their official stores on operating systems like Apple's iOS and Google's Android.

These are historically the way most users install apps onto their devices.

Although it has secured wins in US courts and European Union digital regulations, Epic effectively accused Apple of slow-walking the vetting process it enforces before making an app or game available for users to download.

Epic said early in May that it had submitted "Fortnite" for review for listing in the App Store in the United States.

Fans in the European Union can usually download the game through the company's own app store since the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which went into effect last year, requires Apple and other US tech giants to open up their platforms to competition.

'Junk fees'

"Fortnite" is a heavyweight of the gaming world, with Epic claiming around 500 million users in 2023.

But players have grown used to upsets as the publisher has filed legal cases against both Apple and Google over what it calls "junk fees."

Apple's commissions for App Store purchases, which can range as high as 30 percent, come "at the expense of consumers and developers," the company wrote on X last week.

Epic has faced off against Apple in US courts since 2021, when "Fortnite" was banned from the App Store over what Apple said was an attempt to get around the iPhone maker's payment system.

A judge found that the App Store was anticompetitive as it forbade developers from offering alternative avenues for payment.

But the conflict has endured past the US court order and the EU's requirement that Apple and Google allow third-party app stores on their operating systems.

A US federal judge said earlier this month that Apple was failing to comply with her three-year-old order that emerged from Epic's case, which requires the iPhone maker to allow other avenues for users to buy content or services.

Epic quickly capitalized on the new court action, submitting Fortnite afresh to be vetted for inclusion in the App Store.

The App Store changes include letting app makers use alternate payment systems free or charge or commission.

Epic had cast the order as an opening of the floodgates to allow other software developers to escape Apple's fees.

Source: AFP