Fortnite iOS return blocked — live updates on game being down worldwide

What happens to Fortnite on iPhone?

If what Epic Games says is true, then the ball may be in Apple's court. If the company is specifically blocking Fortnite updates on iOS worldwide, then the only way around this situation is for Apple to relent.

How quickly that might happen, if it does at all, isn't clear. Apple may backtrack, similar to how it did after banning Epic Games' EU developer account, but it may also stand firm. In the latter case, the only way things will change is to go through the courts and lawyers.

Since Apple's legal feud with Epic has been going on for almost 5 years now, there's no telling how long that might take.

The game's been available in Europe

Epic and Apple also ended up in another spat last year, over the state of third-party app stores in the EU. After the EU passed the Digital Markets Act, which forced platform developers to allow third-party stores, Epic announced it would take advantage of the legislation to bring Fortnite back to European iPhones.

Until Apple banned Epic's developer account, declaring that the developer was “verifiably untrustworthy” and claimed that the company wouldn't comply with the rules of Apple's developer licensing agreement. This meant the company was prevented from developing the Epic Games Store on iOS.

Epic accused Apple of breaking the law and not "allowing true competition on iOS devices." Apple's decision was reversed a couple of days later. But it suggested that, despite the legal changes, there was still plenty of bad blood between the two companies.

Apple and Fortnite's history

Fortnite is why Apple ended up with this court ruling in the first place. Unhappy with the way Apple was handling App Store transactions, specifically the part where it takes a 30% cut of all sales, Fortnite tried to get around everything by linking off the app and letting users pay for V-Bucks on Epic's own storefront.

This led to Fortnite being pulled from Apple's App Store and Google Play. While sideloading on Android meant this wasn't such a big deal, iPhone users were essentially cut off from the game — which meant Epic took the matter to court.

Apple was handed an injunction over off-app purchases back in 2021, but was found in contempt of that order earlier this year.

The judge didn't take kindly to Apple putting obstacles in the way of developers trying to link to other payment options, or the fact that it still tried to take a hefty commission from those transactions.

What is happening?

A few weeks back, Apple suffered a major loss in court. A judge ruled that Apple had ignored an earlier injunction from 2021, relating to off-app payments, and essentially told Apple to cut out the games and do as it was told. Apple said it would comply, but is now appealing the decision.

As part of the new ruling, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney revealed that Fortnite would be returning to the App Store in the U.S. Now, though, he's said that the game is in limbo because Apple has "neither accepted nor rejected" the version submitted for review.

We haven't heard anything from Apple about why Fortnite has been blocked in the U.S. and the EU on the Epic Games Store. Nor why there was radio silence about the review process over the past week.

But considering Apple's turbulent history with Epic and Fortnite, it's probably unsurprising that the legal situation isn't being wrapped up so quickly. We have contacted Apple for comment and will update this story when we hear back.

Fortnite on X

"Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union, " the official Fortnite X account posted. "Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it."

When did Fortnite leave iOS?

The battle between Apple and Epic Games isn't new — Fortnite was pulled from the App Store during what seemed like the peak of the game's popularity in 2020.

Epic wanted to link to its own website for in-app purchases, taking away the 30% fee Apple charges and putting the money into its own pocket.

As you might expect, Apple wasn't okay with this, and the game went dark on Apple's mobile platform.

It came back to Europe last year through Epic's own store, but now even that version isn't working during this period and we don't know when it'll start working agian.

Europe is down, too

While the issue is specifically related to Fortnite on the U.S. App Store, it's affecting Europe as well. Gamers can't play the game even though it's downloaded through the Epic Games Store and not Apple's store.

This is clearly a problem that'll take some time to sort out, and there's been no indication of when Fortnite players will be able to enjoy the game on their iOS devices, regardless of where they live.

Why does Epic care so much?

Obviously, Epic Games doesn't want 30% of its profit to go to Apple, but if the company's CEO, Tim Sweeney, is being honest, it's more than that.

In an X post, he posted about a huge sale on the Epic Games Store on PC and mentioned how the competition creates great deals for players. He said, "Imagine if both Steam and the Epic Games Store were free to compete with the App Store on iOS."

It's not a bad point. Apple having total control over the only App Store means there's no room for deals outside the ones Apple chooses.

'Weaponized' app reviews

In an X post, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney had some choice words for Apple's management. "Apple’s App Review team should be free to review all submitted apps promptly and accept or reject according to the plain language of their guidelines. App Review shouldn’t be weaponized by senior management as a tool to delay or obstruct competition, due process, or free speech," the executive said.

It sounds like Sweeney believes Apple is targeting Epic and not giving the company's beloved Fortnite game its fair chance to be on the App Store.

Whether that's what's actually happening or not remains to be seen, but Apple's silence on the issue could speak volumes.

Developers boxed in

In a statement to CNBC, Gabriel Le Roux, CEO and co-founder of payments infrastructure startup Primer, spoke about the predicament facing App Store developers. Specifically, he spoke about game developers and what they're dealing with.

"Developers are being boxed into a rigid ecosystem that limits how they monetise, engage with users, and scale," he said. "For gaming companies in particular, the economics are brutal. They often operate on thin margins, with high customer acquisition costs and a constant need to re-engage users. Losing 15-30% on every in-app transaction can completely erode profitability."

No news is... no news

Unfortunately, we haven't heard anything new from either side, so we can only wait and hope Epic or Apple speaks up about Fortnite being blocked on iOS.

As always, we'll keep digging through the latest information to find anything related to the Fortnite on iOS situation and report it to you as soon as it happens.

User discussion

Apple and Epic are engaged in a back-and-forth battle, and users are left to speculate as to why on sites like Reddit. Of course, most people think it's money, and I would tend to agree with them

AI-voiced James Earl Jones

For platforms where Fortnite still works, it sounds like the latest update is quite awesome, as Epic Games added Darth Vader to the game with an AI voice that sounds like James Earl Jones.

With the latest update, players can recruit Vader to their teams and speak with him using Fortnite’s in-game audio chat functionality. When they do, it'll sound a lot like they're speaking with Darth Vader's original actor, which is both awesome and kind of creepy at the same time.

For iOS users, there's still no update on when this will be resolved and you'll be able to play the game on your platform of choice, but we'll continue to bring you the latest as it happens.

Fortnite knockoffs

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney is throwing shade at Apple by pushing Fortnite knockoffs on X that are available on the App Store despite the actual game being blocked.

No, we don't recommend downloading any of these knockoff games, but it's interesting to see the tactics he's taking to get people on his side.

'Stay tuned,' Tim Sweeney

An update could be coming from Epic Games and Tim Sweeney. A user on X said, "So zero enforcement of the rule of law?" Sweeney responded, "Stay tuned."

Could that mean Sweeney has contacted Apple or the U.S. Government about the situation? That remains to be seen, but his posting leads me to believe that something is coming shortly, and there could be some new developments in the Fortnite on iOS situation.

Will we hear more today?

It's about midway through the day and we haven't heard anything new about Fortnite returning to iOS other than Epic Games' CEO Tim Sweeney saying to "Stay tuned" on X. At this point, with the weekend looming, I'm wondering if we won't hear anything more about this situation today.

On the other hand, both Apple and Epic Games are west coast companies, so their days are only just getting going. That could mean we'll hear something more as the company's legal teams start coming online and getting a handle on things.

Either way, we'll update this live blog if anything new happens with Fortnite being banned from the iOS App Store.

Apple comment

An Apple spokesperson reached out to Tom's Guide with the following comment:

"We asked that Epic Sweden resubmit the app update without including the U.S. storefront of the App Store so as not to impact Fortnite in other geographies. We did not take any action to remove the live version of Fortnite from alternative distribution marketplaces.”