Fortnite Returns to iPhone, iPad App Store

There is some news now for users worldwide, as they can now access Fortnite on the iPhone and iPad app stores. According to Apple, the battle royale game was first removed from the App Store in August 2020 when Epic Games introduced a different payment plan option that violated its commission fee mechanism. Fortnite has also been returned to the App Store after years of legal disputes between the two corporations over developer limitations and pricing rules.

In a blog post, Epic Games had stated that growing governmental pressure against Apple’s App Store practices in areas like the EU, Japan, and the UK had impacts on their decision to make the return of Fortnite to iOS worldwide. And due to continuing legal processes, the battle royale game is still not available on the Australian App Store.

The corporation also emphasised that Apple recently informed the US Supreme Court that international regulators are keeping an eye on the case to decide what commission rates Apple should be permitted to charge in significant countries outside of the US. According to Epic Games, this development confirms the company’s conviction that international regulators would eventually force Apple to make its App Store commission systems and billing methods more transparent.

Epic added that it still opposes Apple’s “anticompetitive” App Store practices. Rules pertaining to third-party app stores and other payment methods are especially affected by this. 

In addition, the company has requested that the Australian court force Apple to cease enforcing such regulations and implement terms that would be advantageous to both iOS users and app developers.

This comes after Fortnite was released on the Google Play Store for Android in March, which removed the requirement to use the Epic Games launcher to sideload the game.

Epic stated that Fortnite on iOS is currently compatible with the iPhone 11 series and later models, the iPhone SE (3rd generation) and later models, and compatible iPad models like the iPad Pro 10.5-inch and later, the iPad Air (4th generation) and newer, and the iPad mini (6th generation) and later. 

Epic Games chose to re-release Fortnite now for several key reasons. First, the company is capitalizing on its legal leverage. A U.S. federal court has issued a transparency mandate, and Apple recently admitted to the Supreme Court that global regulators are monitoring the case to evaluate App Store commission limits.

Second, Epic is fighting what it calls “junk fees.” CEO Tim Sweeney expects that forcing Apple to expose its true operational costs will pressure international governments to ban unfair tech fees.

Finally, Epic is focused on user engagement. The company had previously cut a portion of its workforce due to dropping player engagement. Now, Epic Games is prioritizing rebuilding its mobile player base across billions of global smartphones.

To download Fortnite, users are advised to open the App Store on their iPhone or iPad and search for the game, tapping “Get” or the cloud icon, and launching the app to install the remaining files.