If you’re still playing Fortnite on an iPhone, make sure you aren’t logging into the game with your Apple ID. Otherwise, you might get locked out.
The ongoing feud between Apple and Epic Games means Fortnite for iOS is losing the “Sign in with Apple” function on Friday, Sept. 11. As a result, Epic Games is urging affected users to update their Fortnite accounts with a current email address and new password before the Friday deadline arrives so they can still sign into the game.
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The company created a support document with instructions on making the change. If you fail to make the deadline and get locked out, Epic Games says it will try to recover your account manually after you contact the company.
The “Sign in with Apple” option is a popular way to access third-party iOS games and apps without creating a new account. Instead, you can just use your existing Apple ID to open a new account, bypassing the need to remember another password.
The move comes after Epic Games broke Apple’s App Store rules last month when it added a new payment option in Fortnite, enabling you to buy virtual items directly from the developer. The change flew in the face of Apple’s long-standing policy requiring developers to hand over a 30 percent revenue cut of all in-app purchases to the iPhone maker.
In response, Apple pulled the game from the iOS App Store. The company has also terminated Epic Games’ developer accounts to support Fortnite, meaning it can no longer update the hit game on iOS, or enable crossplay.
The loss of the "Sign in with Apple" function is another blow when many Fortnite players have already been abandoning the iOS version of the game. “Daily active Fortnite users on iOS have declined by over 60 percent since Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store,” wrote Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney in a court filing last week. His company is now calling on a US district court to force Apple to reinstate the game on the iOS App Store until the antitrust feud between the two can reach a ruling.
“From the time Fortnite was launched on iOS through August 13, 2020, it averaged 2.5 million daily iOS players, representing nearly 10 percent of Fortnite’s total average daily players," he added. "Sixty-three percent of Fortnite users on iOS access Fortnite only on iOS.”
Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But the company doesn’t plan on backing down from its fight with Epic Games. On Tuesday, Cupertino filed a counterclaim in the antitrust battle and is demanding Epic Games pay damages for breaking its contractual promises concerning the iOS App Store’s rules.
To enjoy the latest version of Fortnite, Epic Games has been encouraging players to migrate to other platforms, such as Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Android.