Fortnite is finally back in the US App Store
Fortnite is back in the US App Store. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney announced that he intended to relaunch the game in late April, following a court order that demanded Apple stop collecting a 27 percent fee on app transactions that happen outside of its in-app purchase system. The company finally amending its rules to remove that additional commission is why Epic moved forward with the relaunch.
The origins of this conflict can be traced all the way back to 2020, when Epic added its own method for collecting payments for in-game items in Fortnite and encouraged players to circumvent Apple's system. Fortnite was removed from the App Store (and the Google Play Store for that matter), Epic sued and the rest is history.
Epic didn't win its entire case against Apple, but it did secure a permanent injunction allowing developers to include in-app text that makes users aware of payment options other than the App Store. According to the latest court order, Apple allowed that text, but was still demanding developers pay it a fee for those non-App Store transactions. That prompted the judge overseeing the companies' case to demand Apple stop and remove even more obstacles from the payment process. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so.
Fortnite is BACK on the App Store in the U.S. on iPhones and iPads... and on the Epic Games Store and AltStore in the E.U! It'll show up in Search soon!
Get Fortnite on the App Store in the U.S. ➡️ https://t.co/HQu3pYCXFm pic.twitter.com/w74QPFFkOS
— Fortnite (@Fortnite) May 20, 2025
Fortnite has technically been available on Apple devices in other ways for a while now, whether its through the Epic Game Store in the European Union, or game streaming services like Xbox Cloud Gaming and NVIDIA GeForce Now in the US. Returning to the App Store is a symbolic victory. The real prize are the court orders that came from Epic v. Apple.
Assuming they survive Apple's appeal, they could dramatically reshape Apple's business and the way apps work on the iPhone. Companies like Spotify have already updated their apps to take advantage of Apple's rule change, and they likely won't be the last. If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.
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