The ongoing dispute between Epic Games and Apple over the future of Fortnite on iOS devices has escalated, with Epic accusing Apple of blocking its Fortnite submission. This move prevents Epic from releasing the game to the U.S. App Store, a significant setback following a recent court ruling. Earlier this month, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney announced that Fortnite would soon return to the U.S. iOS App Store and iPhones, following a crucial court decision. On April 30, a U.S. Federal District Court in California ruled that Apple had willfully violated a court order in the Epic Games v. Apple case, which mandated Apple to allow developers to offer alternative purchasing methods outside of their apps.
Epic's CEO, Tim Sweeney, remains committed to challenging Apple and Google's control over their app stores, as reported by IGN in January. Sweeney has invested billions of dollars in this fight, viewing it as a long-term investment in Epic and Fortnite's future. He believes Epic can sustain this battle for decades if necessary. The core issue is Epic's desire to bypass the standard 30% store fees imposed by Apple and Google, opting instead to distribute Fortnite through its own Epic Games Store on mobile devices. This conflict led to Fortnite's removal from iOS back in 2020.
Despite Sweeney's recent announcement, Fortnite has not returned to iOS as expected. Epic has now issued a statement to IGN, stating, "Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it." This development has cost Epic billions in lost revenue since Fortnite was removed from iPhones five years ago. In a direct appeal, Sweeney tweeted at Apple CEO Tim Cook, saying, "Hi Tim. How about if you let our mutual customers access Fortnite? Just a thought."
Following the court ruling, Apple was referred to federal prosecutors for violating the U.S. court order. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers emphasized, "Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated. This is an injunction, not a negotiation. There are no do-overs once a party willfully disregards a court order." The judge also referred Apple and its vice president of finance, Alex Roman, to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation due to misleading testimony about Apple's compliance with her injunction.
In response, Apple issued a statement expressing disagreement with the decision but affirmed their intention to comply with the court's order while appealing the ruling. Last week, Apple requested a pause on the ruling from the U.S. appeals court, indicating ongoing legal battles between the tech giant and Epic Games.
