Fortnite officially returns to US Apple App Store

Fortnite has returned to the iOS App Store in the US nearly five years after it was first removed. The game is now available for download on iPhones and iPads through Apple’s service in the US and remains available in the Epic Games Store and Alt Store in the EU.

This follows a momentous decision in the Epic Games and Apple legal dispute. The official Fortnite account tweeted on May 20th that ‘it will show up on Search soon!’

In a post online, Tim Sweeney, Founder and CEO of Epic Games, said: “Thanks to everyone who supported the effort to open up mobile competition and free Fortnite from the very beginning.

“And thanks to all of the folks who initially sided with Apple, then later came around to the winning side, supporting app developer rights and consumer rights.”

However, the battle royale game’s long-awaited return to mobile devices has not come easily. Fortnite was initially removed from the Apple App Store back in 2020 when Epic Games attempted to bypass Apple’s in-app payment system by launching its own in-app payment system.

In April, judges ruled that Apple can’t reject apps for including links to outside payment methods. However, Apple told Epic Games otherwise days later.

On May 17th, Epic Games stated: “Apple broke its week-long silence on the status of our app review with a letter saying they will not act on the Fortnite app submission until the Ninth Circuit Court rules on the partial stay. We believe this violates the Court’s Injunction and we have filed a second Motion to Enforce Injunction with the US District Court for the Northern District of California.”

Tim Sweeney then shared that the game would be offline on iOS in EU ‘indefinitely’ in light of Apple blocking Epic Games Sweden’s Fortnite notarisation. On May 19th, Sweeney shared a screenshot of the United State District Court Northern District of California and its Order to Show Cause.

After a tense couple of days, things appear to have finally cooled down between the two organisations as a joint notice was filed stating they had ‘resolved all issues.’ This was after judges informed Apple that they must reinstate the app or appear in court once more.

As of writing this article, Fortnite mobile is still up and running, available to download through the US iOS App Store, and is already ranked #1 in multiple categories such as action and adventure.

Donald Mustard, former Creative Director at Epic Games, said on X: “This is absolutely incredible. Everyone, go get Fortnite on your Phones and iPads now! We worked so hard in those early days of Fortnite to really dial in and refine a great control scheme for mobile devices!”