Fortnite returns to the App Store in the U.S. after five year absence

Fortnite has returned to the iOS App Store in the United States roughly five years after it was yanked from the marketplace by platform owner Apple.

Epic Games confirmed the news in a brief social media post that was also shared by CEO Tim Sweeney.

“Fortnite is BACK on the App Store in the U.S. on iPhones and iPads… and on the Epic Games Store and AltStore in the E.U! It’ll show up in Search soon,” reads the statement.

It’s a landmark moment for Epic, which has been embroiled in a legal battle with Apple for almost half a decade after the iPhone maker pulled the popular shooter from the App Store in 2020.

The removal came after Epic added a third-party payment method to Fortnite in a bid to circumvent what Sweeney branded “exploitative” platform fees.

That protracted skirmish eventually resulted in a major court ruling that forced Apple to open up its platform to third-party payments (thanks The Verge).

Epic makes good on promise to reinstate Fortnite on the App Store after legal battle with Apple

Following that ruling, Sweeney said Fortnite would be returning to the U.S. App Store imminently and tabled what he called a “peace proposal.”

“If Apple extends the court’s friction-free, Apple-tax-free framework worldwide, we’ll return Fortnite to the App Store worldwide and drop current and future litigation on the topic,” he said, outlining his terms.

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Epic submitted Fortnite for review to Apple shortly after but once it failed to receive swift approval claimed the company was still dragging its heels.

After referring the issue back to the judge who oversaw the Epic v. Apple case, Apple was told to resolve the matter or risk having the person “responsible for ensuring compliance” summoned to a hearing.

Fortnite subsequently returned to the App Store in the United States and both Apple and Epic filed a joint notice to confirm they have “resolved all issues” from their previous filing.

The popular battle royale shooter is also available on iOS in E.U. territories through third-party storefronts and is expected to return to Japan soon.

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