Fortnite Finally Returns To IOS After 5-Year Legal Dispute

Summary

After a long delay, Fortnite has finally returned to iOS devices through the App Store.
The dispute ended with the courts siding with Epic Games, and Apple delaying the process of the app’s return.
Epic Games employees, like the founder and CEO Tim Sweeney, celebrate the return.

Well, after being booted off the App Store in 2020 and after a five-year leave of absence, four new chapters, and Snoop Dogg and Sabrina Carpenter skins, Fortnite is finally back on Apple devices through the iOS App Store.

When Fortnite was initially booted off the app store, leading to a multi-million-dollar legal dispute between Epic Games and Apple, nobody could predict how long this affair would truly last. Still, after what must have been an arduous journey for both Epic Games and Apple behind the scenes, it feels like Epic has finally come out on top.

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As shown in an announcement posted to Fortnite’s X account, Fortnite is finally back and playable on iPhone and iPad devices for the first time since it was removed from the Apple online store in 2020.

After a long few years, and even a long week, as Apple seems to have purposefully delayed Fortnite’s return to the store after Epic won the legal battle, it appears it’s finally back for good. As corroborated by a “we back fam” post from Epic Games CEO and founder Tim Sweeney, this announcement is a clear win for the team.

This battle has been raging for quite some time, to the point where I bet many of us have forgotten what this whole dispute was founded on to begin with. All we’ve come to expect is that Epic Games hates Apple as much as a Fortnite player hates cheaters.

In fact, back in the day, Epic Games made some Fortnite branding off the event’s publicity, such as the divisive “Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite” event, connecting Apple’s authority to those of a dystopian dictatorship.

As many of us may have forgotten, this event had nothing to do with the game but its monetization. Epic Games decided to go against the iOS platform by sidestepping Apple’s built-in payment system in a revolt against Apple’s high service fee.

Essentially, Epic Games offered a discounted price on the franchise’s famous V-Bucks currency to those willing to purchase them through the Epic Games third-party payment system.

In doing so, Apple and Google removed Fortnite from their systems. Epic Games sued Apple and Google in return, claiming that disallowing any app developer from seeking outside payment sources gives Apple/Google an unfair monopoly on all app creators, specifically noting how high of an upcharge iOS and Google place on mobile platforms.

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After five years, the courts finally sided with Epic Games, but not without any subsequent drama. Apple has spent the last week purposefully ignoring Fortnite’s requests to return to the platform, slowing down a process that should only take a few days, and calling for further legal inspection into the delayed process.

But now, after all that time, the saga appears to have finally ended, with Fortnite returning to iOS. In continuation of their old habits, I wouldn’t be surprised if Epic even decides to turn this into a brand new event, with cosmetics and other references celebrating the game’s return to the platform.

Excuse the cringeworthy words coming from an old-school Fortnite veteran, but I find it cathartic that Apple users finally have another chance to crank some 90s.