The meme-printing, money-making battle royale hit Fortnite is officially back on the iOS App Store. Fortnite developer Epic Games has been at war with Apple over payment processing agreements for years now, and while the legal battle is still ongoing, Apple gamers won’t have to pay the ultimate price.
Five years in a Fortnite
Apple first yanked the popular online game off the App Store back in 2020, after Epic launched a still-unresolved litigation war between the two companies. The dispute initially stemmed from Epic‘s use of its own payment processor on the iOS version of the game, instead of Apple Pay, which Apple would obviously prefer.
Why Epic would do such a thing to Apple, you ask? Because Apple likes to skim a 30% commission off all in-app payments processed through Apple Pay.
Epic won a large chunk of the war against the premium phone maker when the Northern California District ruled that Apple can not force the apps on its store to use its payment app. The ruling also found that Epic violated some of Apple’s terms and was deemed to owe the tech company a couple of million in unpaid transaction commissions. The war has grown colder over the years, but it’s still warm enough to have a pulse.
On 9 May, Epic announced Fortnite‘s reapplication to the iOS Store and made a big fuss over Apple dragging its feet to approve it, with CEO Tim Sweeney claiming Apple is “weaponizing” the App Review process. Apple claims it usually takes 24 hours to review an app, so Epic’s complaints are understandable.
Finally, though, as of 20 May, Fortnite has found its way back to the App Store. Its listing on the website starts with, “Fortnite is Back!” Now iPhone and iPad users can join in on the fun, too.
