Fortnite should be available to iPhone and iPad users within the European Union when the Epic Games Store launches on iOS and iPadOS.
Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and revoked Epic’s developer account in 2021 in response to a Fortnite update that stealthily added a third-party payment processor, effectively bypassing Apple’s fee for sales of digital content within apps.
But the new Digital Markets Act has forced the Cupertino tech giant to change its terms for third-party developers in Europe. Now Epic has confirmed that it will operate its games store on iOS and iPadOS through a Swedish subsidiary.
Fortnite is returning to iPhone via Epic Games Store
“We’ve received our Apple Developer Account and will start developing the Epic Games Store on iOS soon thanks to the new Digital Markets Act,” Epic wrote in a 2023 Year in Review post published on its website on February 16, 2024.
“We plan to launch in 2024,” it says. Epic Games Sweden AB will run the mobile Epic Games Store and Fortnite in Europe, with the Store team leading development.
“I’ll be the first to acknowledge a good faith move by Apple amidst our cataclysmic antitrust battle, in granting Epic Games Sweden AB a developer account for operating Epic Games Store and Fortnite in Europe under the Digital Markets Act,” Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Epic Games Store ranks #7 worldwide
The Epic Games Store, which supports PC and Mac, is the seventh digital gaming store in the world behind three console stores, two mobile stores and Steam on PC.
“We’re determined to launch on iOS and Android and enter the competition to become the #1 multi-platform software store, on the foundation of payment competition, 0-12 percent fees and exclusive games like Fortnite,” Sweeney wrote in another X post.
Xbox Cloud Gaming isn’t coming to iOS after all
Not everyone is OK with Apple’s new rules for third-party development within the European Union, which now allow alternative app stores and external web payments.
Microsoft, for instance, won’t be releasing an Xbox Cloud Gaming app on iPhone because “there’s no room for us to monetize Xbox Cloud Gaming on iOS,” even with the latest changes to Apple’s business policy and third-party development.