‘Fortnite’ might not return to iPhone for a long time

[Chris Smith]

• Fortnite is still banned from the App Store, as Epic has lost access to its developer account that governs the game after willfully violating the App Store rules.
• Fortnite might not return to the iPhone and iPad for at least a year, according to Apple documentation submitted for the legal proceedings between the two companies.
• An injunction hearing is scheduled for late September, at which point the court will issue a new verdict concerning Epic’s Fortnite and Unreal Engine endeavors on Apple devices.

Fortnite is effectively dead on iPhone, iPad, and macOS. You can play the game, but you won’t get the latest updates following the massive legal spat between Epic Games and Apple. It all started weeks ago when Apple asked Apple to allow it to offer players its own payment option for in-app purchases. When Apple refused, Epic went behind Apple’s back and inserted an alternative payment option in Fortnite, prompting Apple to ban the game. Epic engineered the crisis to sue Apple and Google on antitrust grounds, although it’s the fight against Apple that Epic wants to fight.

Apple did not just ban Fortnite from the App Store; it also threatened to remove Epic’s developer accounts that handle Fortnite and the Unreal Engine. Epic sued again, asking a court to issue a temporary restraining order against Apple. The court sided with Apple on the Fortnite matter, saying that Epic is causing the harm to itself by not complying with the App Store rules. But it also protected the Epic developer account that handles the Unreal Engine. Epic had time to comply and fix the Fortnite app for iPhone before Apple terminated its developer account, but the game studio decided to continue to lie to gamers and taunt Apple instead. Apple activated its option to terminate the Epic developer account as a result, and now the two companies await the next stage in their legal battle. As it is right now, Apple intends not to allow Epic to reapply to the Apple Developer Program for at least a year.

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‘Fortnite’ might not return to iPhone for a long time originally appeared on BGR.com on Tue, 15 Sep 2020 at 18:11:43 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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