Fortnite may be returning to the App Store. So says Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games. It has been more than two years since the popular game was removed from the App Store after Epic Games introduced an alternative payment system without Apple’s permission.
Next year on iOS! Sweeney promised on Twitter shortly before New Year’s Eve.
App Store guidelines still require transactions made within apps to be handled by Apple. Epic Games must then remit 30 percent to Apple, something it has consistently refused to do.
Epic Games even filed a lawsuit against Apple for anti-competitive practices. As a result, Apple not only banned Fortnite, but also blacked out Epic Games’ developer account.
In September 2021, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple could no longer prohibit developers from offering third-party payment options in their apps. Both Apple and Epic Games are appealing the ruling, but so far no final decision has been made. In December, Bloomberg reported that Apple has been working internally to allow third-party app stores on iOS, at least in the EU.