Fortnite Returning to iPhones After Four-Year Long Legal Battle

The four-year-long saga detailing Epic Games’ conflict against Apple implicit in-app purchases is adjacent to reaching its drawn-out climax. Epic plans to deploy its games, including the monstrously popular Fortnite, connected third-party app marketplace AltStore, not conscionable connected its ain still-incoming Epic Games Store. It’s bully quality for iOS users (at slightest successful the EU) but atrocious quality for Samsung fans since you’ll nary longer find Fortnite or immoderate different of Epic’s mobile titles connected the Galaxy Store.

In January, Apple opened a ace successful its infamous walled garden to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. This allowed for third-party app stores connected iOS for the archetypal clip successful the iPhone’s 17-year history. After that quality dropped, Epic declared Fortnite would instrumentality to iOS “through the Epic Games Store.” The institution said it’s leaving immoderate app stores “that service arsenic rent collectors without competing robustly and serving each developers fairly.”

According to Epic, the institution is extricating itself from Samsung’s Galaxy store. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said this is due to the fact that Samsung blocks sideloading by default. Epic sued Google, calling the Play Store anti-competitive. The institution claimed successful its station that Google has projected to Samsung “to restrain contention successful the marketplace for Android app distribution.” Fortnite is currently not connected the Google Play Store either.

As elaborate successful a study this week by Android Authority, caller Samsung devices with One UI 6.1.1 artifact sideloading by default. Of course, you tin re-enable it done settings, though astir users wouldn’t cognize erstwhile oregon wherever to bash it. 

In its Thursday blog post, Epic said its crippled marketplace “will beryllium coming to Android worldwide and iOS successful the European Union,” though it did not springiness a circumstantial date. The institution declared that Fortnite and Epic’s different mobile games would extremity up connected third-party iOS app stores, specifically AltStore, for iPhone users successful the EU. Those games are coming to 2 different third-party app shops “soon,” the institution said.

In March, Apple axed Epic’s developer account, citing that Epic was “verifiably untrustworthy” astir its contractual agreements according to a missive sent to the games publisher. Epic made that missive public, and CEO Tim Sweeney claimed they mislaid their entree implicit his anti-Apple tweets. Apple told Gizmodo the substance was owed to “Epic’s egregious breach of its contractual obligations.” Two days later, Apple reinstated Epic’s developer relationship successful the EU.

“We’ve agelong been advocating for the rights of stores to beryllium and vie reasonably connected iOS and Android, and advancement is spreading crossed the globe, successful the signifier of Europe’s DMA, akin laws successful the UK and Japan, regulatory investigations astir the world, and triumph successful the Epic v Google litigation successful the US.

Epic cites itself arsenic having a amended woody for developers. The institution takes a 12% chopped for each payments connected the platform. The institution explained that with these sideloaded crippled shops, determination would beryllium nary other outgo owed to third-party app store fees. In comparison, the biggest crippled marketplace connected PC, Valve’s Steam platform, typically takes a 30% chopped of crippled revenue. 

The EU volition beryllium the archetypal to get the Epic Games Store connected iOS and Android aboriginal this year. The games store volition beryllium connected iOS successful the UK successful the second fractional of 2025.

As a reminder, you don’t needfully request the Fortnite app to play the crippled connected iPhone oregon Android. You could watercourse it done Xbox Cloud Gaming oregon other services similar Amazon Luna if you spot your net speeds to grip some streaming and your in-game latency. 

Are Epic and Big Daddy Sweeney close to beryllium angry? Yes, though lone successful presumption of a institution being restricted by notoriously high-walled gardens connected some Android and iOS. But each this infighting hits consumers the hardest. A caller subordinate apt won’t cognize wherever to go actually to play Fortnite or immoderate different Epic mobile game. Until Epic yet releases its app store connected some ecosystems, plentifulness of players volition beryllium stuck sweating successful their banana outfits, scratching their heads.