Fortnite’s reinstatement on select iOS devices has become possible due to recent legislation amidst the ongoing legal battle between Epic and Apple. Stay updated with the latest developments in this contentious issue.
Fortnite will return to iOS devices in 2024, but only in European Union countries. This is thanks to a new EU law known as the Digital Markets Act, which is set to take effect in March. Fortnite's iOS release in the EU could follow shortly after.
In August 2020, Fortnite was removed from Apple's App Store due to a legal dispute over in-app purchases. Since then, Fortnite has remained absent from the App Store and Epic has been unable to update the game for those that still have the app installed. However, there are cloud-gaming workarounds that allow iOS users to stream the current version of Fortnite to their phones. Despite these inconvenient solutions, many fans are understandably eager for Fortnite's potential return to the App Store. It seems that some fans finally got promising news.
Epic Games posted a Tweet explaining that Fortnite will return to European Union iOS devices later this year thanks to the EU's Digital Markets Act. The DMA, which will be implemented in March, allows EU iOS users to download applications through third-party app stores, introducing a significant change to Apple's previously closed ecosystem. In regard to Fortnite, the new law will allow EU users to download the game through the upcoming Epic Games Store for iOS. Presumably, this will be a fully updated version of Fortnite that receives regular updates like it used to before the two companies butted heads in 2020. Apple has already moved to fight against the DMA, proposing new terms that aim to ensure it will still receive money from non-App Store downloads.
The DMA's implementation in March might come just in time for Fortnite's Chapter 5 Season 2 update, which is expected to launch the same month. According to leaks, the update's theme will be Greek mythology and could include new movement mechanics like rope swinging.
Following the initial lawsuit, Epic was quick to land marketing punches against Apple. It released an Apple-themed skin that appeared to be a bookish, unhappy person wearing drab clothes. Epic also launched an ad making fun of Apple's famous 1984-themed commercial from the 80s, in which it portrayed Apple as the ad's 1984-esque villain.
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