(Credit: Epic Games)
Apple's decision to let EU iPhone users download apps from third-party stores means the return of Fortnite on iOS later this year.
"Fortnite will return to iOS in Europe in 2024, distributed by the upcoming @EpicGames Store for iOS," Epic tweeted this week. "Stay tuned for details as we figure out the regulatory timeline."
Apple was forced to allow these other stores to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which goes into effect in the EU this year. It's not happy about it, and neither is Epic Games or other apps that have clashed with Apple over the years on its app tax. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney calls Apple's plan an “illegal anticompetitive scheme rife with new Junk Fees on downloads and new Apple taxes on payments they don't process."
But while Epic says it will "continue to argue to the courts and regulators that Apple is breaking the law," that apparently won't stop it from bringing Fortnite back to iOS.
It's been absent from the App Store in any official capacity since 2020 when Epic Games added a direct-payment option on iOS and Android to avoid paying in-app payment commissions to Apple and Google. The game was removed from both stores, kicking off a legal battle in which Google lost but Apple largely prevailed.
In 2022, Fortnite launched on Nvidia's GeForce Now, but it's only available via the Safari browser on iOS, not an official app.