Fortnite is back on the iPhone — with a whole app store in tow

Fortnite is yet backmost connected iOS, conscionable implicit 4 years aft Apple booted it from the iOS App Store — but it’s lone disposable successful the EU. The crippled is launching contiguous connected some a caller iPhone mentation of the Epic Games Store and done AltStore PAL, different third-party app store. The Epic Games Store is besides launching contiguous for Android users worldwide.

The motorboat follows years of litigation betwixt Epic and Apple, arsenic good arsenic regulatory changes ushered successful by the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which forced Apple to let alternate app stores. Epic plans to yet bring its games to Aptoide’s iOS store successful the EU and the ONE Store connected Android and says in a blog post that “we look guardant to bringing our games to different stores astir the world.”

“We’re truly excited and grateful for the European DMA law,” Epic Games laminitis and CEO Tim Sweeney said successful a briefing with reporters. “Fortnite is yet returning to iOS successful Europe.”

This revived iOS mentation of Fortnite is launching conscionable successful clip for the new Marvel-themed season, giving EU players a perchance large crushed to travel backmost to the crippled connected Apple’s mobile platform. Sweeney said that Epic foresees “absolutely nary occupation of being capable to update Fortnite simultaneously, worldwide.” In summation to Fortnite, European iPhone owners and planetary Android users volition beryllium capable to download Epic’s Rocket League Sideswipe and a caller title, a mobile mentation of Fall Guys, from the Epic Games Store. 

While the mobile Epic Games Store presently has conscionable 3 first-party games, the institution is already successful discussions with third-party mobile developers. Epic aims to person a “curated” enactment of third-party games connected the mobile store successful December, VP and Epic Games Store GM Steve Allison said, with self-publishing (which is already imaginable connected PC) acceptable to get successful aboriginal 2025. Epic besides plans to bring implicit “everything” it offers connected PC, similar its 88 percent gross stock for developers, escaped games for players, and the enactment for developers to usage their ain outgo platforms. It’s aiming for 100 cardinal nett caller Epic Games Store mobile installations by the extremity of the year, Allison said, though that could beryllium hampered by hurdles successful Apple’s third-party installation process.

To succeed, Epic volition request developers to brave Apple’s fees for venturing extracurricular the App Store. If a developer wants to database their app connected a third-party store, they indispensable wage Apple a “Core Technology Fee” of €0.50 per twelvemonth for each instal aft the archetypal million. This interest applies to app installs connected some third-party app stores and the App Store, which could adhd up rapidly if you person a palmy app connected the App Store and privation to connection your app done an extracurricular marketplace. “The effect of that is to dissuade immoderate developer of a current, palmy crippled from putting their crippled connected immoderate store that competes with the iOS App Store,” Sweeney said.

Apple besides announced additional caller fees past week. “We’d similar to usage the walled plot terminology, but these halfway tech fees and the caller things introduced past week made the partition a small spot higher, and possibly [Apple] enactment immoderate barbed ligament connected top,” Allison said.

For Epic, it’s worthy scaling that wall. According to tribunal documents, Fortnite connected iOS made more than $700 million implicit the 2 years earlier Apple yanked it from the store. While Fortnite volition surely person a overmuch smaller assemblage connected an EU-only third-party store, Epic volition get 100 percent of the revenues from in-app purchases alternatively of paying Apple’s accustomed 30 percent App Store cut. Some of that gross volition spell toward Apple’s fees, but Epic is large capable to upwind them. And if regulation, competitory pressures, oregon nationalist sentiment unit Apple to soften its byzantine rules for third-party app stores, Epic volition beryllium 1 of the biggest, earliest players successful the field.

But truthful far, galore third-party developers look leery. Allison said that Epic is successful progressive discussions with “just astir each azygous one” of the apical 250 mobile developers. And portion the developers are “very enthusiastic” astir the Epic Games Store connected Android, “almost each of them” said they can’t marque it enactment connected iOS.

Epic knows it’s got a agelong mode to go. The institution has already spent hundreds of millions successful its combat with Apple, according to Sweeney. And Allison acknowledged there’s inactive a immense magnitude of friction for players and developers. “But our imaginativeness for the aboriginal is we’re going to support fighting,” Allison said. “We’re going to marque progress. We are assured that implicit time, we volition get these things eradicated. But we don’t cognize if it’s going to beryllium 2 months oregon 2 years oregon longer, but we surely anticipation it’s 1 of the shorter ones.”