Before the "final battle" with Apple: Fortnite returns globally to the App Store
Almost six years after being kicked out by Apple, Epic Games is relisting its shooter in the App Store almost everywhere. The dispute over commissions continues
(Image: Postmodern Studio / Shutterstock.com)
One of the biggest and longest App Store dramas is nearing its end. Epic Games has relisted Fortnite (almost) globally in Apple's App Store, as the game company announced on Tuesday. Almost six years after Epic provoked its expulsion by Apple, the shooter is once again available for download in Germany through the distribution channel pre-installed on every iPhone and iPad.
Controversial commissions on in-app purchases
However, the “final battle” with Apple is yet to come, Epic emphasized in a statement, while also indicating that it intends to continue to take action against Apple's “anti-competitive App Store practices.” Nevertheless, Fortnite is already back in the App Store, “because we are confident that once Apple is forced to show its costs, governments around the world will not allow Apple junk fees to stand,” Epic writes. The game is only temporarily unavailable in the Australian App Store. In the US, Epic has been distributing it again in Apple's store since the iPhone company was legally prohibited from charging a commission on external purchases in apps. The proceedings are still ongoing (Epic Games vs. Apple, case number 25-2935, Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit).
Ultimately, it's about huge revenues from in-app purchases, especially in games: According to the lawsuit, Fortnite alone generated over 700 million US dollars with its iOS version in the two years it was available on the App Store, and Apple earned well over 100 million US dollars from the commission.
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In 2020, Fortnite positioned itself at the forefront of major app providers who wanted to pay less or no commission to Apple and Google for in-app purchases. For a long time, the two platform operators withheld up to 30 percent commission on in-app purchases; now there is a significantly more complex fee structure with many exceptions and special regulations.
Provoked App Store expulsion
Epic Games then integrated a direct purchase option for its in-game currency V-Bucks into Fortnite, thereby deliberately violating Apple's and Google's app rules – and was promptly thrown out of the central app stores for iOS and Android. Epic then took legal action. Although the game developer lost the proceedings against Apple by a wide margin, it was able to obtain an injunction that generally allows external purchase links in apps – this is still being disputed. In the EU, Apple has since had to allow alternative app stores; Fortnite was already available there in the Epic Games Store – however, only a tiny fraction of iPhone users have probably installed such third-party stores so far.
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