Epic Games’ popular multiplayer shooter “Fortnite” is back on the U.S. Apple App Store starting Tuesday, ending a nearly five-year ban and marking a major win for the video game company.
Epic Games, an American studio backed by China’s Tencent, has been locked in a legal dispute with Apple since 2020. Epic Games has accused the iPhone maker of violating U.S. antitrust rules by charging commissions of up to 30% on in-app payments.
“Fortnite” returns to Apple’s iOS system in the United States after a federal judge ruled on April 30 that Apple violated a U.S. court order requiring the company to allow greater competition in app downloads and payment methods in its App Store. The ruling also said that Apple’s failure to comply with the judge’s previous injunction will be referred to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation.
Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on Fortnite’s return to the App Store. “We support fam,” Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney posted on social media platform X.
Launched in 2017, Fortnite became an instant hit thanks to its final “Battle Royale” mode, attracting millions of players around the world. As of the time of the ban, Epic had 116 million users on the Apple platform alone.
“For Epic Games, it’s a hard-fought victory that came at a very high price and may be too late to boost a Fortnite game that’s past its prime,” said DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria. “For Apple, it’s another chink in the armor that the services business relies on – making payments through Apple in order to charge developers a fee for each transaction.”
Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors, said this opens the door for subscription apps like Spotify and Netflix to recoup profits, and for independent studios to become profitable without paying additional commissions to Apple, potentially reshaping the iOS economy in the next 12-18 months.
Apple banned “Fortnite” from its stores in 2020 amid a dispute over in-app payment guidelines. The game returned to Google Android devices globally and iPhone in the EU last year.
Fortnite said on Tuesday that the game will also be available on the Epic Games Store and AltStore in the European Union.
© Thomson Reuters 2025
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