Epic Video games Apple has blocked Epic’s submission of Fortnite to the U.S. Apple App Retailer and the Epic Video games Retailer for iOS within the European Union.
“Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will likely be offline worldwide till Apple unblocks it,” Epic Video games mentioned in a tweet.
Epic Video games had hoped that it will be capable to return its recreation, which has been off iOS since Epic sued Apple for antitrust violations in 2021. A brand new regulation within the EU is anticipated to power Apple to conform sooner or later, and a latest ruling within the U.S. federal antitrust lawsuit by Epic was anticipated to power Apple’s hand.
[Updated: 11:16 p.m. Pacific time on 5/16/25]. Epic Video games mentioned it filed a movement to implement the choose’s injunction towards Apple.
Epic Video games help, “Yesterday afternoon, Apple broke its week-long silence on the standing of our app evaluate with a letter saying they won’t act on the Fortnite app submission till the Ninth Circuit Court docket guidelines on the partial keep. We imagine this violates the Court docket’s Injunction and we’ve filed a second Movement to Implement Injunction with the US District Court docket for the Northern District of California.”
The corporate added, “We’ve been clear with Apple about our intentions whereas they’ve used app evaluate and notarization as a pretext to bypass the Court docket’s injunction and the EU Digital Markets Act. Apple’s “answer” required us to submit two variations of Fortnite, in violation of their guideline that builders shouldn’t submit a number of variations of the identical app. That’s not the usual Apple holds different builders to and it’s blocking us from releasing our replace within the EU and US. Apple is once more retaliating towards Epic for difficult the legality of their anticompetitive habits and we’ll struggle on.”
Within the new Movement, Epic mentioned that on Could 1, 2025, Epic notified Apple of its intent to avail itself of the injunction and the brand new tips. Particularly, Epic notified Apple that Epic would use the identical developer account that it makes use of to distribute the Epic Video games Retailer and Fortnite within the European Union to submit Fortnite for App Overview within the U.S. Epic invited Apple to supply it with additional route if Apple most well-liked that Epic submit Fortnite for evaluate one other means (e.g., by way of a unique developer account). On Could 2, 2025, Apple—by way of its outdoors counsel— said that if Epic needed to submit utilizing the method Epic had outlined, it ought to achieve this.”
Epic added, “Though Apple’s contracts could allow it to reject an app for lawful causes, the Injunction gives that Apple could now not reject an app—together with Fortnite—as a result of its developer chooses to incorporate an exterior buy hyperlink. Likewise, if the Injunction is to have any enamel, Apple can not reject an app on the bottom that its developer has sought to implement the Injunction’s prohibitions.”
And Epic mentioned, “The one rationalization for Apple’s resolution to refuse to evaluate Epic’s Fortnite submission is that Apple doesn’t need Epic to make the most of the rights it labored so exhausting to acquire and as an alternative needs to retaliate for these efforts.”
Nothing about Epic’s stipulation with Apple gives Apple with any higher discretion to reject a submission from Epic or to deal with Epic’s submissions any in another way than Apple could deal with submissions from some other developer, Epic mentioned. And importantly, Apple’s contractual rights beneath the DPLA don’t trump the Injunction; on the contrary, the entire level of the Injunction is to curb these rights, Epic mentioned.
Epic added, “This court docket’s Injunction and contempt order are clear. Apple could not reject apps as a result of their builders want to steer customers to different fee choices by way of hyperlinks, buttons and different calls to motion. Nor can Apple reject apps as a result of their builders have tried to implement that proper. In its Contempt Order, this Court docket emphasised that the aim of the Injunction is to terminate Apple’s makes an attempt to intrude with competitors and keep an anticompetitive income stream. Apple’s purposeful rejection of Fortnite—which has a purchase order hyperlink aspect by aspect with IAP, in keeping with the present Pointers—is solely extra interference with competitors.”
We await additional rationalization for why Apple continues to be blocking Fortnite’s return. We’ve got requested Apple for remark, but it surely has not supplied something but.
In its authorized filings with Epic, Apple mentioned, “The events’ latest disputes over the District Court docket’s injunction don’t diminish Apple’s bases and authorized proper to have terminated Epic Video games’ DPLA. On the contrary, the District Court docket’s latest Order reiterated Epic Video games’ admission ‘that it breached the DPLA and [had previously] conceded that Apple could be entitled to reduction if the Court docket discovered that the DPLA was enforceable and didn’t violate antitrust legal guidelines or public coverage.’”
Apple mentioned the district court docket once more famous that “Apple’s breach of contract declare can also be premised on violations of DPLA provisions impartial of the anti-steering provisions. Apple eliminated Fortnite from the U.S. storefront of the App Retailer and terminated Epic Video games’ developer account due to that breach.”
