Anyone hoping Fortnite will return to iOS devices soon might want to sit down, as it seems the battle royale phenomenon is now “blacklisted” from the App Store. At least, until the legal battle between Epic Games and Apple reaches a meaningful conclusion.
Last year, the two companies came to blows when Epic Games released a Fortnite update that let players avoid using the App Store for in-game purchases. Naturally, Apple was not happy about that and took away Epic’s developer account on the App Store. Epic sued in response; Apple then filed a countersuit, culminating in a ruling where both companies lost. In the wake of all that, Apple has declined to reinstate Epic’s developer account on the App Store. Naturally, Tim Sweeny, CEO of Epic Games, isn’t happy about that.
“Apple lied,” Sweeny said on Twitter. “Apple spent a year telling the world, the court, and the press they’d ‘welcome Epic’s return to the App Store if they agree to play by the same rules as everyone else.’ Epic agreed, and now Apple has reneged in another abuse of its monopoly power over a billion users.”
Sweeny went on to post an email from Apple lawyer Mark A. Perry.
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
“In light of this and other statements since the court’s decision, coupled with Epic’s duplicitous conduct in the past, Apple has exercised its discretion not to reinstate Epic’s developer program account at this time,” Perry said. “Furthermore, Apple will not consider any further requests for reinstatement until the district court’s judgment becomes final and non-appealable.”
Sorting this mess out might take up to five years, according to Sweeny. So yeah, Fortnite probably won’t be back on iOS devices for a long time.
Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.
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