Fortnite has been in and out of the Apple App Store several times over the years because its parent company Epic Games and Apple compare to the developers’ fees. But on Wednesday, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney announced that Legendary Games has returned to the Apple App Store again.
Sweeney wrote on X: “Next week we will return Fortnite to the US iOS App Store next week.
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The lawsuit is exactly why Fortnite returns. Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. District Court in Northern California ruled that Apple’s behavior towards online transactions was malicious and anti-competitive. Sweeney also posted information about this on X shortly before Fortnite’s announcement.
“For reasons set for this article, the court ruled that Apple deliberately violated the court’s 2021 injunction, which is intended to limit and ban Apple’s anti-competitive behavior and anti-competitive pricing,” the court document read. “Apple’s continued attempts to interfere in competition will not be tolerated.”
How many years can the battle go back
In 2021, Epic Games and Apple went to court. Apple won the court battle to a large extent, but walked away without leaving unscathed. The federal judge also ordered Apple to remove its reverse barrier, meaning the company must allow apps downloaded from the app store to turn customers to third-party means.
From the archive: Apple beats Epic’s legal victory in Fortnite lawsuit
Apple appealed the decision later in 2021, and the proceedings continued until 2022 and until 2023. Apple eventually won the appeal. However, the court has upheld its anti-advocacy ruling from 2021 in the process.
When Epic brought Apple back to court in 2025, the company noted that Apple did not comply with the original ruling in 2021. The judge agreed and now forces Apple to comply with the rules of the letter. This does not include charging developers for non-app store payment methods and allowing developers to tell people that such third-party options and platforms exist. The time range is simple enough. Apple will follow these new rules immediately.
Epic Games also filed lawsuits against Google and Samsung in an attempt to achieve the same results for Google Play users.
