Epic Games’ hit game Fortnite is returning to the U.S. iOS App Store next week following an unexpected decision by a federal judge, marking the latest dramatic twist in a legal battle with Apple spanning more than four years.
The conflict originally erupted in 2020 when Apple pulled Fortnite from the App Store after Epic Games introduced its own direct payment system within the game, bypassing Apple’s mandated 30% fee on in-app purchases. Epic argued that Apple’s policies were monopolistic and unfairly imposed hefty charges on developers. In 2021, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers initially ruled partially in Epic’s favor, determining that Apple could not block developers from linking out to third-party payment methods that would skip Apple’s transaction fees. Even so, the decision did not clear the path for Fortnite’s immediate return to the App Store.
Nearly four years after her initial ruling, Judge Rogers delivered a stern rebuke on Wednesday, declaring Apple to be in “willful violation” of the previously issued injunction. Rogers expressed her dissatisfaction in no uncertain terms, denouncing the company’s attempt to circumvent the ruling and making it clear this breach would not be tolerated. “That it thought this Court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation,” she wrote. “As always, the cover-up made it worse. For this Court, there is no second bite at the apple.”
Responding triumphantly to the latest development, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney announced Fortnite’s long-awaited return to the U.S. App Store. Highlighting the significance of the ruling, he proclaimed on social media: “Apple’s 15-30% junk fees are now just as dead here in the United States of America as they are in Europe under the Digital Markets Act. Unlawful here, unlawful there.” Sweeney also underscored just how protracted this battle has been—emphasizing that it took four years, four months, and seventeen days to reach this point.
Epic Games had previously stated its intention not to bring Fortnite back to iOS until it could offer an in-app payment system on equal footing with Apple’s, thereby passing on savings directly to players. With this ruling now firmly in place, Fortnite fans can finally anticipate the game’s official return to their iOS devices.
