Apple and Epic's Fortnite battle is somehow still going

Summary

Apple has rejected Epic Games’ Fortnite iOS App Store submission, preventing its release in the US App Store.
The legal battle continues between Epic and Apple over in-app purchases in the App Store.
Fortnite’s return to the App Store remains uncertain as Apple holds off on approval.

Epic Games, the publisher of popular battle royale title

Fortnite
, says that Apple has rejected its submission to bring the game back to the iOS App Store. In a post on X, Epic explained that Apple has prevented its Fortnite submission, so it’s unable to release the game in the US or EU App Store.

This is just the latest setback in the ongoing legal battle pitting Epic against the

App Store
and Apple’s 30 percent in-app fee cut associated with the platform. A judge recently ruled that Apple has been ignoring a 2021 injunction preventing it from blocking access to outside subscription links for in-app purchases with mobile apps.

This allowed game publishers like Epic and subscription streaming platforms like

Spotify
and Netflix to resubmit their apps with in-app purchase options that redirect to outside platforms, preventing Apple from taking a cut of their revenue. However, Apple has still rejected Fortnite from the App Store for unclear reasons.

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The Apple vs. Epic battle continues

When will Fortnite return to the App Store? At this point, it’s unclear

Epic

Epic first stated that Fortnite would return to the iOS App Store in May, but it looks like that won’t happen any time soon. The game remains unavailable in the App Store and its webpage includes the message, “The Epic Games Store on iPhone is only available for European Union customers.” Given the European Union forced Apple to open up its walled-garden iOS ecosystem to third-party App Stores, the video game publisher was able to release the Epic Game Store in the region. However, the ability to download Fortnite in Europe seems to have been disabled, too.

Apple claims it isn’t blocking Fortnite in the EU, according to Bloomberg. In a statement to the publication, the company said that it “did not take any action to remove the live version of Fortnite from alternative distribution marketplaces.” The tech giant goes on to state that it wants Epic to resubmit the game “without including the US storefront of the App Store so as not to impact Fortnite in other geographies.”

Sweeney has also directly targeted Apple CEO Tim Cook on X about the ongoing issue.

Are you lost at this point? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. It looks like the EU App Store removal is related to the US App Store submission and that while Apple is willing to approve the Epic Game Store and in turn Fortnite in the EU, it has no immediate plans to approve Fortnite’s US App Store submission. It’s unclear why Fortnite has been denied US App Store approval.

Last week, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney expressed frustration on X that Fortnite appeared to be stuck in approval limbo, forcing the company to resubmit the game to the App Store. App Store approvals typically take 24 hours. In response to the latest development where the game appears to have been blocked. Sweeney has also directly targeted Apple CEO Tim Cook on X about the ongoing issue, suggesting that he allow their “mutual customers” to play Fortnite on iOS.

So when will Fortnite make its way back to the US App Store? At this point, who knows? Despite the recent ruling in Epic’s favor, Apple seems intent on finding ways to prevent the game from making its way back to its storefront, which, given how vocal the game developer has been about its disdain for Apple, isn’t entirely surprising.