Summary
- Fortnite is officially back on the U.S. iOS App Store after a five-year ban.
- The return follows a court order enforcing antitrust compliance from Apple.
- Epic Games now allows direct payment links in Fortnite, bypassing Apple’s 30% fee.
Fortnite Returns to iOS in the U.S. After 5-Year Ban
After nearly half a decade, Fortnite is back on the iOS App Store in the U.S., marking a major moment in one of the most high-profile legal disputes in tech and gaming history. The game was removed in 2020 after Epic Games introduced direct payment options within Fortnite, sidestepping Apple’s 30% in-app commission fee. This move led Apple to revoke Epic’s developer account and boot Fortnite off its platform.
Now, after a lengthy court battle, Epic has emerged with a partial victory. A judge ruled last month that Apple violated a U.S. court order requiring it to allow third-party payment links in apps. This decision forced Apple to permit Fortnite’s re-entry—pending approval through its App Review process.
A Hard-Fought Legal Win for Epic
While Apple dragged out the review, a recent legal challenge by Epic prompted a judge to demand answers. On May 20, Apple approved Fortnite’s return, officially ending its five-year absence. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney celebrated on X, stating: “We back fam.”
Epic’s legal journey began in 2020 and has helped shape how platforms like Apple and Google treat app store payments. The ruling also benefits apps like Spotify and Netflix, which can now offer direct links for subscriptions, potentially reshaping mobile app economics.
Why Fortnite Was Removed
At the heart of the issue was Apple’s policy requiring all in-app transactions to go through its payment system. Epic bypassed this by adding its own web-based payment links, prompting Apple to revoke Fortnite’s developer account and ban the game from the App Store in August 2020. The resulting controversy led to widespread debates about platform monopolies, eventually ending up in court.
The ruling now forces Apple to allow alternative payment options, as long as they’re presented as links or buttons. Other companies like Amazon have already begun offering direct purchase options in their apps following the decision.
What This Means Going Forward
While Epic’s win is meaningful, analysts note that the return might be too late to significantly boost Fortnite’s popularity. Once one of the most downloaded and played games on iOS, Fortnite has since evolved and spread to cloud platforms, Android, and the Epic Games Store. Still, its return to iPhones in the U.S. is symbolic—a big win in the fight for fairer mobile app ecosystems.
Meanwhile, Apple is appealing the court order and seeking to delay further changes to its App Store policies. Whether these legal shifts will remain in place long-term remains to be seen.
