After years of legal battles, Fortnite is finally set to return to iPhones and iPads. The legendary game has been in and out of Apple the App Store multiple times over the years as its parent company, Epic Games, and Apple clashed over developer fees.
Last Wednesday, the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that Apple’s behavior toward web transactions was in bad faith and anticompetitive. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney posted about the ruling on X on the same day.
“For the reasons set forth herein, the Court finds Apple in willful violation of this Court’s 2021 Injunction which issued to restrain and prohibit Apple’s anticompetitive conduct and anticompetitive pricing,” court documents read. “Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated.”
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When will Fortnite return to the App Store?
Fortnite should be available for iPhone and iPad users in the US by May 11. Sweeney made the announcement shortly after last Wednesday’s court ruling.
“We will return Fortnite to the US iOS App Store next week,” Sweeney wrote on X. “Epic puts forth a peace proposal: If Apple extends the court’s friction-free, Apple-tax-free framework worldwide, we’ll return Fortnite to the App Store worldwide and drop current and future litigation on the topic.”
What will be new on Fortnite for iPhones?
In celebration of its iOS relaunch, Fortnite is rumored to be bringing back the Tart Tycoon skin. The monochrome cosmetic outfit was first released in 2020 and is meant to be a parody of Apple. Alongside the rare item, the Tart Tycoon Cup event is said to be returning.
Fortnite has been banned from iOS devices since 2020, when the flagship iOS device was the iPhone 11.
Why was Fortnite off the iPhone and why is it coming back?
In 2021, Epic Games and Apple went to court. Apple largely won that court battle, but didn’t walk away unscathed. A federal judge also ordered Apple to remove its anti-steering barriers, meaning the company must allow apps downloaded from the App Store to steer customers to third-party means.
From the archives: Apple Scores Legal Win Over Epic in Fortnite Lawsuit
Apple appealed the decision later in 2021, with proceedings continuing through 2022 and into 2023. Apple eventually won the appeal. However, the court upheld its anti-steering ruling from 2021 in the process.
When Epic took Apple back to court in 2025, the company pointed out that Apple hadn’t complied with the original ruling in 2021. The judge agreed and is now forcing Apple to follow the rules to the letter. This includes not charging developers for non-App Store payment methods and allowing developers to tell people that such third-party options and platforms exist. The time frame is simple enough. Apple is to comply with these new rules immediately.
Epic Games also has lawsuits against Google and Samsung, seeking to achieve the same result for users of Google Play.
