ARTICLE AD BOX
Fortnite has returned to the iPhone – after a five year disappearance.
The battle royale game is now available on the US version of the App Store. It is the latest development in an ongoing fight between Apple and Fortnite developer Epic.
Fortnite was removed from the iPhone store in 2020, after Epic introduced its own payment methods to the app. That is in contravention of Apple's App Store rules, and thus led to the app being removed.
In the years since, the app has stayed off the store and not been available on the iPhone. But the two companies have been locked in a legal battle that has led to landmark court cases and changes in regulations.
Epic argues that Apple has too much control over the App Store, which is the only way to download apps onto the iPhone. It has been able to use that control to enrich itself at the cost of its users and developers, Epic has argued.
Apple says that its control of the App Store and payments made through the iPhone is an important security feature and that suers would be left less secure if it were weakened.
The two have been conducting that argument through a range of legal proceedings. The most recent of those saw Apple criticised by a judge and told to give Epic a host of allowances, which the Fortnite developer indicated would mean it would be happy to restore the game to the iPhone.
Even that finding had led to further complications, however. Last week, Epic said that it was pulling its submission to the App Store and the game became unavailable on iPhones worldwide.
Now, however, the game is available to download like any other from the US App Store. Epic warned that if it did not show up through the search feature it should appear soon.
Fortnite has been available on EU iPhones through some of the last five years. That was the result of a European Union decision to force Apple to allow alternative app stores on the continent, so that Epic can distribute the game through its own shopfront.
English (US) ·