While Apple and Epic continue to argue, an EU law now ensures that Fortnite is officially playable on iPhone and iPad again
Apple and Epic Games have been fighting in court for more than three years. The bottom line is who earns how much from the sales of Fortnite. As a result, the game was removed from the App Store and players on iPhone and iPad had to do without the popular battle royale. At least for the fans, a new EU law has now solved the problem
Fortnite officially returns to iOS
How is this possible? The EU is forcing Apple by law to allow third-party providers to offer their own stores on iOS through the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
This allows Epic to bring its own Epic Games Store to iPhones, iPads and other Apple hardware, including Fortnite, which the company promptly announced via X, formerly Twitter.
Remember Fortnite on iOS?
How bout we bring that back.
Later this year Fortnite will return in Europe on iOS through the @EpicGames Store.
(shoutout DMA – an important new law in the EU making this possible). @Apple, the world is watching. pic.twitter.com/VdHWTe8i1c– Fortnite (@FortniteGame) January 25, 2024
When will Fortnite return? The X post only says “later this year”, there is no more precise date yet.
Epic boss continues to criticize Apple
Thanks to the DMA, Epic can now avoid the 30 percent fee that Apple charges on App Store sales, which is ultimately the specific point of contention between the two parties.
Epic’s CEO Tim Sweeney however, is already criticizing Apple for its plans to partially circumvent the new EU law and explains his concerns in a longer X post.
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
Apple wants to decide for itself which stores it will tolerate alongside the App Store. Sweeney fears that its own Epic Games Store will simply not be approved and warns that the same could happen to Microsoft, Valve or GOG.
Sweeney also criticizes Apple’s plans to charge fees for purchases in other stores. He calls this approach illegal under the new EU law
Apple’s fee plan has only recently been tried by Unity
Apple’s plans include a fee per user and per year when using a third-party store
The video game engine Unity also wanted to launch a similar model in September 2023, which resulted in a major scandal. After an apology and a significant change to the planned model, the headwinds died down again.
Fortnite could only be played on the iPhone or iPad via detours such as cloud gaming for a long time. Did you miss the battle royale on the go or have you found alternatives? Do you want to play Fortnite on an iOS device in the future? What do you think of Apple’s plans regarding the new EU law? Is Tim Sweeney right? Let us know your opinion in the comments.
