Apple’s App Review appears to have rejected Epic’s latest build of Fortnite.
Epic Games’ official Fortnite account on X just posted: “Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it.”
[Update: The Verge reports that the version of Fortnite available in the EU through the Epic Games Store is indeed unavailable right now.]
[Update 2: Apple has told Bloomberg that it “did not take any action to remove the live version of Fortnite from alternative distribution marketplaces” in the EU. But Apple did ask Epic to “resubmit the app update without including the US storefront of the App Store so as not to impact Fortnite in other geographies.” It’s unclear why.]
Epic submitted a new Fortnite build to App Review a week ago, according to X posts from Tim Sweeney, in order to launch in the US. Epic has yet to receive any sort of response, says the Epic boss. The firm also pulled last week’s App Review submission and re-submitted a fresh build earlier this week, again according to Sweeney’s X account.
In keeping with the court ruling that cracked open the US App Store a couple of weeks ago, the new build of the battle royale game will have web payments – just like the version that got the game kicked off the App Store in the first place back in 2020.
Sweeney has said Fortnite will be published by Epic Games Sweden, the EU-based developer account held by Epic Games which was set up so the firm could launch the Epic Games Store in the EU.
Epic is also heavily incentivising use of its payments system by beefing up its Epic Rewards program. It announced last week that players will get 20% back in Epic Rewards on all purchases made in Fortnite, Rocket League, and Fall Guys using Epic’s payment system.
It is also launching its own webshop business next month, plus a ‘zero commission’ scheme designed to incentivise developers to launch games through its own Epic Games Store on mobile.
All this follows the ruling of a US judge, which stated that Apple had not properly followed a 2021 injunction allowing iOS developers to point customers to web payments and other alternative ways to pay for IAP.
The solutions Apple came up with in order to comply with the injunction were not considered to be suitable; the judge then removed practically all Apple-led restrictions on web payments in the US App Store with immediate effect.
The fiery ruling also saw the judge accuse Apple of misleading the court and may even result in jail time for one executive, who is accused of lying under oath.
We have contacted Apple PR reps for a response to this story and will update this post if or when they reply.
