Epic Games’ Fortnite back up on Apple app store in US after nearly 5 years

Bengaluru – Epic Games’ wildly popular multiplayer shooter game Fortnite is available again on Apple’s app store in the US on May 20, capping a ban of nearly five years and marking a major win for the video game company.

The game title was also available on the Epic Games Store and AltStore in the European Union, Fortnite said in a post on social media platform X.

Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Fortnite’s return to its app store.

Apple and Alphabet’s Google had banned Fortnite from their stores in 2020 over a tussle about in-app payment guidelines.

The game had already returned to Google’s Android devices worldwide and iPhones in the EU in 2024, but it was still not available on the app store on iPhones and iPads in the US.

Epic Games, a US-based studio backed by China’s Tencent, has been in a legal battle with Apple since 2020, alleging that the iPhone maker’s practice of charging a commission of up to 30 per cent on in-app payments violated US antitrust rules.

Fortnite’s return to Apple’s iOS systems in the US follows an April 30 ruling by a federal judge that Apple violated a US court order that required the company to allow greater competition for app downloads and payment methods in its app store.

US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, said in her ruling that Apple failed to comply with her prior injunction order and that she will refer Apple to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation.

Launched in 2017, Fortnite became an instant hit, drawing millions of players around the world thanks to its last-player-standing, “battle royale” format. At the time of the ban, Epic had 116 million users just on Apple’s platform. REUTERS