Alleged Apple blockade: Fortnite on iPhones goes "offline" globally

That's it again for Fortnite on the iPhone for now: since Friday, the iOS version of the game has been “offline” worldwide, as Epic Games announced. Apple had blocked the recently submitted update, and therefore it could not be published in the Epic Games Store in the EU or the US App Store. This will continue “until Apple unblocks it”, commented the games company succinctly.

The never-ending dispute between Epic and Apple

It is the latest twist in the long-running dispute between Epic Games and Apple. After an injunction forced Apple in the USA to allow links in apps, Epic Games also wanted to bring Fortnite back to the local App Store. Apple had ignored the submitted update for many days, Epic founder Tim Sweeney complained several times on X – and at the same time made fun of the fact that Apple had obviously allowed fraudulent Fortnite clones into the App Store.

Five years ago, Epic provoked the ejection from the App Store (and Google Play Store) by secretly integrating Fortnite direct purchase links – alongside Apple's mandatory in-app purchase interface. The direct purchases were also cheaper because Apple did not charge a commission for this “forbidden” channel at the time. The iPhone company punished the clear breach of Apple's developer agreement by kicking Fortnite out of the App Store. At the same time, Apple also kicked Epic out of the dev program – and thus practically off the platform. Epic then went to court.

Much drama also surrounding Epic's developer access at Apple

Meanwhile, the Digital Markets Act forced Apple to allow alternative app stores in the EU onto the iPhone. Epic also took advantage of this to launch its Epic Games Store here. However, this required a new Apple Dev account, which Apple also initially rejected, but then had to allow – after all, apparently under pressure from the EU Commission –. The account is operated by an Epic subsidiary in Sweden. Epic Games now wanted to use this account to bring Fortnite back to the US App Store, which apparently met with little approval from Apple. Apple has not yet commented on the matter.

(lbe)