Following a US court ruling to restrict Apple from charging commissions on purchases outside the App Store, Epic Games has announced the imminent return of the battle royale Fortnite to iOS devices in the US.
Image source: Epic Games
As a reminder, Fortnite has been unavailable on iOS in the US since August 2020, when Apple removed the game from the App Store amid Epic Games’ introduction of its own in-game payment system that violated Apple’s rules.
Since then, Apple and Epic Games have been fighting their cases in court. The legal battle has been a mixed bag for both sides. Today’s ruling is a decisive victory for Epic.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers has barred Apple from charging fees for purchases outside the App Store and from restricting developers from informing users about alternative payment methods.
In the wake of the court ruling, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney announced plans to bring Fornite back to iOS in the US next week, and also offered Apple a “peace settlement.”
If Apple extends the ruling to the rest of the world, Epic Games will put Fortnite back on the App Store and withdraw from all “current and future litigation related to this matter.”
It’s worth noting that with the launch of the mobile version of the Epic Games Store last summer, Fortnite returned to Android (worldwide) and iOS (EU countries only), but the launcher is not available in the US.