Fortnite threatens to NEVER return to iPhones in the UK as game bosses slam ‘bleak' changes
The massively popular online title has been missing from the App Store since 2020
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Fortnite has been locked in legal battles against Apple and Google
Credit: Getty
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The iOS version of Fortnite has been absent from the App Store since 2020
Credit: Getty
Epic wants to launch its own app store, known as the Epic Games Store.
So far, it's managed to land in the EU - and Fortnite has returned to iOS in the US too.
The firm had hoped to bring the Epic Games Store to the UK in the second half of 2025.
But in an update, the gaming giant says its return here is now looking "uncertain".
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Epic Games blames the competition regulator, the CMA, for "choosing not to prioritize opening the mobile ecosystem to alternative app stores this year".
It described the CMA's latest proposals to improve mobile platforms as "bleak".
"We can't bring the Epic Games Store to iOS in the UK this year (if ever), and Fortnite's return to iOS in the UK is now uncertain," bosses said.
"Four years after concluding that the App Store and Google Play Store are parallel monopolies the CMA has done nothing to allow competing stores."
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Epic drew upon a recent US court order victory, which it says has benefited other popular apps like Spotify.
"
Unless Apple and Google are completely blocked from imposing fees and discriminating against apps using out-of-app payment, we can expect years of malicious compliance ahead, and no genuine restoration of market competition
," Epic added.
I'm a gamer granny & I'm hooked on Fortnite – now I've landed deal with huge global brand
The firm said it will introduce the Epic Games Store and Fortnite to other countries, including Brazil and Japan, later this year.
Android users are able to access Fortnite via the Epic Games Store but only by downloading it outside of the Google Play Store - a workaround Apple doesn't allow on iOS for security and safety.
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Epic Games says Fortnite's return to iOS in the UK looking 'uncertain'
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