Fortnite fans who are hoping to have the game back on Apple devices soon may have years to wait. Apple has blacklisted the popular game until all court appeals are final according to Epic Games CEO, Tim Sweeney. Epic Games’ opening brief in its appeal is due December 12, and Apple’s is due January 20 according to court filings.
The two companies have been in a fiery dispute since April of last year. Epic games tried to skirt around Apple’s 30 percent fee on some in-app purchases by developing its own in-app payment system. Apple is also facing a swarm of other legal and regulatory challenges due to rules it enforces on game makers.
Sweeney took to Twitter on Tuesday to voice his opinion after being informed of Apple’s decision to ban Fortnite until all appeals are over.
Late last night, Apple informed Epic that Fortnite will be blacklisted from the Apple ecosystem until the exhaustion of all court appeals, which could be as long as a 5-year process. pic.twitter.com/QCD7wogJef
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) September 22, 2021
Developers have criticized Apple’s 15-30 percent commissions with some believing the process isn’t transparent and often unpredictable. Earlier this month a U.S. federal judge struck down some of Apple’s App store rules allowing another developer to use an external payment system. This could be considered a small win for Epic Games.
For now, Fortnite fans may have to wait up to five years to play the game on Apple devices.
Via Reuters