Amidst a legal battle with Apple, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has teased that Fortnite will return to iOS in 2023. The popular game was removed from the App Store after violating the platform's guidelines. This started one of the most high-profile legal battles in the industry. Scroll down to read more details on the subject.
Epic Games CEO teases Fortnite's return to iOS this year amidst an ongoing legal battle with Apple
Tim Sweeney shared the news on Twitter to celebrate the new year. He wrote, "Next year on iOS!" followed by a Fortnite character looking at 2023 fireworks. It was previously reported that Apple would soon allow third-party app stores or sideloading of apps on the iPhone with iOS 17 to comply with the new Digital Markets Act or DMA law in Europe. Henceforth, this could potentially allow Fortnite to return to iOS and iPadOS. However, it is not necessary that the game will be available through the App Store.
Epic Game's Fortnite is a massively popular battle royale game that is available on a wide range of platforms. Apple decided to remove the title from the App Store in August 2020 after Epic Games offered a direct payment method within the game. This bypassed Apple's in-app purchasing mechanism and violated the App Store guidelines. Now, there is a possibility that Fortnite will return to iOS sometime this year. Apple issued a statement back then that reads:
Today, Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users. As a result their Fortnite app has been removed from the store. Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services.
After being removed from the App Store, Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple, and the legal battle continues to this day. Sweeney stated, "We're fighting for open platforms and policy changes equally benefiting all developers. And it'll be a hell of a fight!". Almost three years later, Apple and Epic Games are appealing a court decision that would require Apple to offer in-app links to external websites, circumventing Apple's payment mechanism in the App Store.
This is all there is to it, folks. We will share more details on the subject as soon as further information is available. Do you think Fortnite will return to iOS this year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
