By Mallory Mattingly
After a five-year legal battle, Fortnite is hoping it can return to Apple’s App Store soon.
Apple kicked the game out in 2020 because its software update linked out to the company’s website to avoid Apple’s commissions, according to CNBC.
Epic Games, Fortnite’s parent company, filed a lawsuit against Apple, “alleging violations of antitrust laws through its Apple App Store policies on iOS devices.” Apple, meanwhile, claimed that Epic Games “breached” developer agreements and App Store guidelines “by introducing a direct pay option on iOS devices in Epic Games’ videogame Fortnite.”
Last month, the court ruled in favor of Epic Games and said that Apple is not allowed to collect any commission on “link-outs or dictate if the links look like buttons.” Epic Games said that Apple was taking 30% of all in-app purchases.
Per court documents from Variety, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said, “For the reasons set forth herein, the Court finds Apple in willful violation of this Court’s 2021 Injunction which issued to restrain and prohibit Apple’s anticompetitive conduct and anticompetitive pricing. Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated.”
The court documents continue, “Effective immediately Apple will no longer impede developers’ ability to communicate with users nor will they levy or impose a new commission on off-app purchases.”
With that victory, Epic Games has asked Apple to relaunch Fortnite on the App Store.
“We’ve submitted Fortnite to Apple for review so we can launch on the App Store in the U.S.,” Fortnite wrote in a post on X.
We’ve submitted Fortnite to Apple for review so we can launch on the App Store in the U.S.
— Fortnite (@Fortnite) May 9, 2025
An Apple spokesperson told Variety, “We strongly disagree with the decision. We will comply with the court’s order and we will appeal.”
Meanwhile, Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said, “It’s a huge victory for developers. This means all developers can offer both Apple’s payment service side by side with their own payment service. Apple cannot charge fees on the developers’ own payment services, and developers are free to pass along savings to customers by through differentiated pricing.”
“What this does is it forces Apple to compete with other payment services, rather than blocking them,” the CEO continued. “This is what we wanted all along. We’ve always acknowledged Apple’s right to operate their own store; their right to operate their own payment service. We’ve just always wanted a level playing field in which developers can compete with Apple to offer their own products, and then consumers are free to choose the best, and let the best product win.”
While Fortnite will come back to Apple’s App Store, it remains to be seen if Apple will appeal and what that will mean for Epic Games and other video game developers.
Read Next: What Made Fortnite’s Return to Apple App Store Possible?
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