Update: Epic has issued a statement claiming Apple has blocked its attempts to get Fortnite back on the iOS Store. That means the game is now unavailable on iOS worldwide, not just in the US, until Apple unblocks it.
Summary
It’s been one week sinceEpic Gamesrevealed it had submittedFortniteto Apple for review ahead of its triumphant return to iOS devices in the US. However, Fortnite is still absent from the Apple Store, and Epic boss Tim Sweeney has gone off on Apple in response.
It’s a legal battle that stretches back half a decade. A fight between Apple and Epic over where players could go to download Fortnite and purchase its in-game currency, and who should get what cut from its revenue. Five years later, a judge ruled in favor of Epic, dictating that Fortnite can return to the Apple Store. However, despite Epic’s promise, that still hasn’t happened.
That’s through no fault of the Fortnite studio.Epic revealed it had submitted Fortnite for review on May 9. Apple boasts it reviews up to 90 percent of apps within 24 hours of submission. However, one week later, Fortnite is still in limbo. It has been forced to wait so long that Epic has had to pull the submission and start the process again due to the game receiving a scheduled update.
One Week Later, There’s Still No Sign Of Fortnite On iPhones
Apple Is Really Milking It
Well aware that Apple will likely use this as an opportunity to reset the review process clock to zero, Sweeney appears to have spent the bulk of his last 24 hours taking jabs at Apple on social media. The Epic boss has pointed to cheap Fortnite clones currently available on the iOS Store, one of which is so brazen in its mimicry that it’s simply called FortLite, questioning how those games have been approved when the real thing remains unapproved.
Sweeney has also been criticizing a new message that has started appearing when iOS users try to download an app that allows third-party payments. Apple has been forced to make the change in the EU, allowing app creators to circumvent the controversial cut Apple takes. Unsurprising that Sweeney would have an opinion, as it was that cut that led to issues between Epic and Apple in the first place.
The message warns users that the app uses “external purchases”, placing the message alongside a big red exclamation mark to make it look like that’s a bad thing. “It is tantamount to a virus warning, and its sole purpose is to crush apps that use payment methods that compete with Apple’s own,” Sweeney tweeted.
As for what’s next, I guess we’re about to find out just how petty Apple can be. There is a very real chance that it uses the need to resubmit to start the process over and that this time next week, Fortnite is still missing from the iOS Store in the US. Something will eventually have to give, though, and it’s a matter of when, not if, Fortnite is back on Apple devices. Just sit tight.
