Bad news for fans of Epic Games' battle royale. Less than a year after its return to European iOS devices – following the implementation of new digital market legislation – Fortnite has been banned by Apple once again. While the battle between the Cupertino company and the video game giant seemed over, at least in our country, it's clear that tensions are flaring up again.
In Europe, players could download Fortnite via the alternative Epic Games Store, which was introduced in August 2024. But this secondary access method wasn't enough to protect the title from yet another ban. On the European-only app, downloading Fortnite is disabled until further notice, following the rejection of the app's global rollout.
“Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission, so we cannot publish it on the US App Store or the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. Unfortunately, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it,” the company said via the game's official X account.
Apple refuses to meet its obligations
Earlier this month, Epic Games attempted once again to submit Fortnite for general rollout on the App Store. The request was prompted by the video game giant's recent legal victory in a lawsuit concerning payments made via apps downloaded from the App Store. The verdict pushes Apple to open up to payments outside the App Store, a decision that has already been challenged on appeal. The Cupertino company appears to be taking advantage of this renewed legal battle to challenge Epic Games' proceedings. Unfortunately for the company responsible for Fortnite, this manipulation also affects the game's presence on third-party stores. Apple is saving time, but players are losing time. Even if the Fortnite app is already installed on an iOS device, it will become unusable as of Friday, May 16, 2025, until the next development in the endless battle between Epic and Cupertino. As a reminder, the conflict began in 2020, and the verdicts are now starting to play in Epic Games' favor. Logic would therefore dictate that Fortnite will soon make its return to iOS platforms. Watch this space.
0 Comments