The popular video game Fortnite has returned to Apple App Stores in the United States after a five year absence and a notable legal battle with Epic Games.
Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games revealed the development in a series of tweets on X (formerly Twitter), tweeting “we back fam”, and thanking everyone “who supported the effort to open up mobile competition and #FreeFortnite 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.”
Sweeney also reposted a tweet that pointed out that Fortnite is “already ranked as the #1 action game on iOS in the US App Store.”
we back fam https://t.co/X14bCXoylB
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) May 20, 2025
Epic Games
The return of Fortnite on Apple’s US App Store on Tuesday marks a significant achievement for the gaming firm.
Last week Epic Games had claimed that Apple had blocked an update to Fortnite on Apple’s App Store in the US, as well as through Epic’s own app store in the EU, effectively taking the game offline.
It all stems from when Epic Games had sued Apple in 2020, in an effort to force Apple to allow third-party payment systems, as well as to allow third-party app stores on its devices.
Epic was fighting to be allowed to make sales to players of its iOS games without paying a roughly 30 percent commission to Apple.
When the case came to court, Apple won the vast majority of counts in the original trial. That said however, Epic Games did win some concessions.
In September 2021 Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers had ordered Apple to make major changes to its App Store – for the first time allowing developers to send their users to alternative payment systems.
The judge also found in 2021 that Apple had violated California’s unfair competition law by barring developers from “steering” users to make digital purchases that bypass Apple’s in-app system, which Epic argued could save them money with lower commissions.
The judge at the time had therefore ordered that Apple to allow third-party developers to provide links and buttons that direct consumers to other ways to pay for digital content that they use in their apps, bypassing Apple’s own payment system and the Apple commission.
“Wilful violation”
Appeals and more court cases took place, but then three weeks ago there was a stunning development when Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple had wilfully violated the 2021 injunction.
The judge also wrote that Apple VP of Finance Alex Roman “outright lied” to the court.
The judge then referred Apple to federal prosecutors for criminal contempt investigation.
Shortly after that Apple asked an Appeal Court to temporarily pause key provisions in a US judge’s “extraordinary” ruling for the firm to comply with a previous court order.
The judge’s ruling was a notable reprimand of Apple’s conduct and behaviour in the case.
Now Apple has allowed Epic Games’ Fortnite to return to its App Store in the US, after a five year absence.
