Fortnite is no longer available on iOS devices globally

There’s a new twist in the ongoing feud between Apple and Fortnite creator Epic Games. The battle royale game won’t be returning to Apple devices in the U.S., as Apple has blocked Epic Games’ submission to release Fortnite on the U.S. App Store.

Additionally, the game is no longer available for iOS or iPadOS users in the European Union, where it had previously been available for download through the Epic Games Store and other marketplaces like AltStore PAL since last year.

Following a recent ruling in Epic’s lawsuit against Apple, Epic Games announced on May 9 that it had submitted a request to Apple to return to the U.S. App Store. The ruling stated that Apple could not stop developers from linking to external payment options.

Since Epic Games’ U.S. developer account was terminated by Apple in 2020 when Epic first violated Apple’s policy by introducing an external payment option in the game, the company used its EU developer account to resubmit Fortnite to Apple for review.

However, Apple wasn’t in a hurry to review the request, and it remained pending until yesterday, when Fortnite was scheduled to receive a new update. As a result, Epic Games was forced to withdraw the submission and resubmit it with the updated version of the game.

Now, Apple has rejected the submission. As a result, the game is not only not coming to the U.S. App Store, but it has also been removed from the Epic Games Store for Apple users in the EU.

Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, has been very vocal about the feud on his X account. Yesterday, in response to a comment, he said that games like Fortnite can’t function properly if major platforms (most likely referring to Apple) use their power to interfere with the game's operation. He also made a post last night complaining that many Fortnite knock-offs are available on the App Store.

Interestingly, shortly after, the game he mentioned in his post — Fort Battle Royale Epic Shoot — was removed from the App Store.