“Fortnite” Could Return To iOS Next Week

Epic Games’ “Fortnite” is making its long-awaited return to iOS platforms in the United States – a full five years after Apple removed it from the App Store over the legal tussle surrounding in-game transactions.

Apple officially booted “Fortnite” and other Epic Games titles off the App Store in August 2020, suspending the games company’s developer account after Epic filed an antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant.

Variety reports that a District Court in California found that Apple willfully violated the 2021 court-ordered injunction in the Epic Games v. Apple suit.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers reportedly says in the documents: “Effective immediately Apple will no longer impede developers’ ability to communicate with users nor will they levy or impose a new commission on off-app purchases.”

Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney responded to the court’s findings in a series of posts on X saying:

“NO FEES on web transactions. Game over for the Apple Tax. Apple’s 15-30% junk fees are now just as dead here in the United States of America as they are in Europe under the Digital Markets Act. Unlawful here, unlawful there. We will return ‘Fortnite’ to the US iOS App Store next week.”

Sweeney also says that on an international scale, he has a proposal for Apple:

“Epic puts forth a peace proposal: If Apple extends the court’s friction-free, Apple-tax-free framework worldwide, we’ll return ‘Fortnite’ to the App Store worldwide and drop current and future litigation on the topic.”

He also says a Pie Patron outfit was created for the situation in which Epic and Apple reached reconciliation and had an agreement, and players might be able to access that if a resolution is reached.

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