Fortnite Coming to iPhone and iPad in EU

By: Nick Gambino

Epic Games, the company responsible for the hugely popular battle royale shooter game Fortnite, has been in a long drawn-out battle with Apple that has kept the title out of the App Store for years. Now, it looks like new legislation in the EU will force Apple to allow it back into their ecosphere.

The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) that passed over a year ago requires that Apple open up their devices to other app stores and direct website downloads, instead of forcing users to download through the tech giant’s own App Store.

This new legislation allowed Epic Games to move ahead and work to bring Fortnite back to the iPhone, but it wasn’t until this week that the order came through that Apple must comply with the same law when it comes to iPadOS. Epic seized the opportunity immediately.

“Today, the European Commission said that iPads will also need to comply with the Digital Markets Act,” a tweet/X post from the official Epic Games Newsroom said. “We’re moving full steam ahead to bring Fortnite and the Epic Games Store to iPhones in the EU soon and iPads this year!”

This whole fight between Epic Games and Apple goes back to the height of the pandemic in 2020 when the game company took a stand against Apple’s 30% take on all in-app purchases. Their protest of choice? Simply refuse to pay it. There was no way Apple was going to just let that go, especially with how much money Epic was making, so they…kicked them out of the App Store? I guess they figured they would just fall in line but Epic is more punk than that.

This decision wound them up in the courts. Unfortunately for the “underdog,” Apple won. That is, they won in the US. The DMA changes the whole game in the EU and so now Fortnite has a chance for an “epic” return.