1741 Days: That's How Long It Took for Fortnite to Return to iOS in the US!

General news News 05/22/2025

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GAMING NEWS – “We back fam,” tweeted Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney as Fortnite finally returns to the iOS App Store in the United States.

In August 2020, Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store after Epic Games bypassed Apple’s 30% fee by implementing its own payment system in the game. Nearly five years later, the popular battle royale is back on the U.S. App Store. While it’s not a total victory for Epic, CEO Tim Sweeney is ready to make peace.

Following the ban, Sweeney sued Apple over its requirement that iOS apps use only Apple’s in-app payment system. The court granted Epic a partial win: while Apple wasn’t forced to allow third-party payment systems inside apps, it could no longer block developers from directing users to external payment websites.

A Peace Offer to End the Apple Tax War

Apple didn’t fully comply, instead introducing new fees for out-of-app purchases and showing warning messages to discourage users from using alternative payment options. Epic objected, and in April 2025, the court issued a strong rebuke, stating that Apple’s compliance bordered on disingenuous and demanding the company stop interfering with external transactions immediately.

Sweeney called for a truce, saying that if Apple extends this frictionless, “Apple tax-free” framework worldwide, Epic will restore Fortnite to App Stores globally and drop all ongoing and future lawsuits related to the issue. Although the court had ordered no more delays, Apple continued to block Fortnite’s return—until yesterday.

Now, both Apple and Epic have informed the court that they’ve settled their dispute (for now), and Fortnite is once again available on the U.S. iOS App Store. In Europe, the game is already accessible via the mobile version of the Epic Games Store, which is allowed to operate under EU regulations—unlike in the U.S. The game is also available via the third-party iOS store AltStore.

Source: PCGamer

we back fam https://t.co/X14bCXoylB

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) May 20, 2025

Angyal Anikó

Anikó, our news editor and communication manager, is more interested in the business side of the gaming industry. She worked at banks, and she has a vast knowledge of business life. Still, she likes puzzle and story-oriented games, like Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments, which is her favourite title. She also played The Sims 3, but after accidentally killing a whole sim family, swore not to play it again. (For our office address, email and phone number check out our IMPRESSUM)