March 11, 2024, 10:33 am | Read time: 4 minutes
The back-and-forth over “Fortnite” on the iPhone seems to be over for now. After Apple recently decided against it, the hit game is now allowed to return to the devices.
[Update from March 11, 2024] Apple is backtracking in the dispute over “Fortnite” on iPhones with game publisher Epic Games. After the company recently tried to prevent the game from permanently returning to the devices, it is now allowing it. Epic’s previously banned developer account has been reinstated. As reported by the British “Guardian,” this comes after pressure from the EU under the new Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The original news follows:
For several years now, Apple and Epic Games have been at odds. After the hit game “Fortnite” was initially playable on iPhones, the company from Cupertino, California, removed the title from its App Store. Recently, it seemed that fans could hope for a comeback. But for now, that won’t happen.
Overview
Epic Games Makes Serious Accusations Against Apple
Just this January, the game studio proudly announced plans to bring “Fortnite” back to iOS and thus to iPhones. This decision was facilitated by the EU’s new Digital Markets Act (DMA). As part of this, they wanted to place their own Epic Games Store on the Apple system–which would have added it to the list of alternative app stores for iPhones.
But as reported by “GamesIndustry.biz,” Apple has now blocked this endeavor. Specifically, the company is said to have terminated Epic’s developer account, which means the store and Fortnite cannot proceed. For the developer, this represents a “serious violation of the DMA.” The move shows “that Apple has no intention of allowing real competition on iOS devices.” The DMA is intended to force tech giants like Apple, Meta, or Google to enable fairer competition.
The iPhone maker would “eliminate” one of its biggest competitors with Epic. “If Apple retains the power to remove a third-party marketplace from iOS at its discretion, no reasonable developer would want to use a third-party app store because they could be permanently separated from their audience at any time,” Epic said in a statement.
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What Alternative App Stores Are There for the iPhone?
Fortnite Returns to the US App Store
Apple No Longer Trusts Epic Games
The reaction was not long in coming. Apple board member Phil Schiller reportedly wrote in an email to Epic CEO Tim Sweeney that the studio apparently does not intend to “follow the rules.” The current criticism and the past decision to deliberately violate contractually agreed commissions would indicate this.
In this exchange of messages, Apple obtained written assurance that Epic would “act in good faith and adhere to agreements.” However, for Apple, this was “completely inadequate and not credible.” Epic was “verifiably untrustworthy.”
Apple’s Store Practices Are a Thorn in Epic’s Side
The dispute originated in 2020 when Epic Games unilaterally decided to offer payment processes on its own and at a lower cost. Until then, purchases of Epic products were also processed directly through the App Store, with 30 percent of the revenue going to Apple. The iPhone maker responded by removing Fortnite.
The DMA is theoretically supposed to support Epic Games in its efforts to sell products directly for iOS as a third-party provider. However, Apple has directly set new conditions and fee payments if developers want to use alternative stores.
According to Sweeney, these changes would force developers to choose between exclusivity in the App Store under old Apple rules or a new system. The former is now illegal in Europe, as Sweeney explains. But the latter is also incompatible with the new laws. It is anti-competitive due to new fees and taxes on downloads and payment processes that Apple “does not even handle.”