San Francisco (AFP) – Epic Games on Tuesday said its hit game “Fortnite” has returned to Apple’s digital App Store in the United States after being sidelined for years due to a legal battle with the iPhone maker. “Fortnite is BACK on the App Store in the US on iPhones and iPads…and on the Epic Games Store and AltStore in the EU!” the game maker proclaimed in a post on X.
Last week, “Fortnite” became unavailable on the App Store around the world, apparently as the result of an updated version of the game being rejected by Apple. While Fortnite, with its millions of daily players, had already been unavailable to iPhone users in the United States, the block on downloads of the cartoonish multiplayer shooter affected the entire globe.
While Apple did not reply to a request for comment on Tuesday, it said previously it had asked Epic in Sweden to resubmit its app update without a newly added digital storefront permitted as the result of a lawsuit in the United States. Neither Apple nor Epic disclosed what cleared the way for the Fortnite app’s return in the United States.
North Carolina-based Epic has battled Apple and Google for years over commissions they charge on transactions at their official stores for digital goods tailored for iOS or Android operating systems. These are historically the way most users install apps onto their devices. Although it has secured wins in US courts and European Union digital regulations, Epic effectively accused Apple of slow-walking the vetting process it enforces before making an app or game available for users to download.
Fans in the European Union can usually download the game through the company’s own app store since the Digital Markets Act, which went into effect last year, requires Apple and other US tech giants to open up their platforms to competition.
“Fortnite” is a heavyweight of the gaming world, with Epic claiming around 500 million users in 2023. But players have grown used to upsets as the publisher has filed legal cases against both Apple and Google over what it calls “junk fees.” Apple’s commissions for App Store purchases, which can range as high as 30 percent, come “at the expense of consumers and developers,” Epic has argued.
Epic has faced off against Apple in US courts since 2021, when “Fortnite” was banned from the App Store over what Apple said was an attempt to get around the iPhone maker’s payment system. A judge found that the App Store was anticompetitive as it forbade developers from offering alternative avenues for payment. But the conflict has endured past the US court order and the EU’s requirement that Apple and Google allow third-party app stores on their operating systems.
A US federal judge said earlier this month that Apple was failing to comply with her three-year-old order that emerged from Epic’s case, which requires the iPhone maker to allow other avenues for users to buy content or services. The App Store changes include letting app makers use alternate payment systems free of charge or commission.
Epic quickly capitalized on the new court action, submitting Fortnite afresh to be vetted for inclusion in the App Store. Epic had cast the order as an opening of the floodgates to allow other software developers to escape Apple’s fees. In a joint filing on Thursday, Epic and Apple told the judge they had resolved the issues that led Epic to request an order enforcing her decision in the case. No details were provided regarding the resolution.
© 2024 AFP
