Fortnite is back on the App Store worldwide, says Epic Games

Epic Games has said that Fortnite is now back on the App Store worldwide, although there is one notable exception.

The company has again criticized what it calls “junk fees” from Apple and indicated it expects to win an ongoing antitrust lawsuit against the iPhone maker …

Epic made the announcement today.

Fortnite is now back on the App Store worldwide, after Apple told the U.S. Supreme Court that “Regulators around the world are watching this case to determine what commission rate Apple may charge on covered purchases in huge markets outside the United States.”

Apple knows the U.S. federal court will force it to be transparent about how it charges its App Store fees. Fortnite is returning to the App Store now because we are confident that once Apple is forced to show its costs, governments around the world will not allow Apple junk fees to stand. 

Essentially, the games company is arguing that it’s confident it will get a favourable result in the lawsuit and therefore won’t have to pay commissions to Apple on sales made through third-party payment systems.

CEO Tim Sweeney has been characteristically forthright in a post on X.

For years, Apple has fragmented iOS features and fees by territory, taking regulatory negotiating positions in secret, and intentionally delaying the pursuit of justice […] we see this as the beginning of the end of the Apple Tax worldwide […]

This is a critical moment in the battle against the App Store empire to win freedom for all developers and consumers, and we’ll continue the fight in every jurisdiction worldwide until competition is restored to digital stores and payment markets everywhere.

This was accompanied by the image shown above.

The company says it has not yet returned to the Australian App Store as it claims Apple is defying a court ruling there.

9to5Mac’s Take

We’ll have to wait and see whether Sweeney’s optimism is indeed reflected in the outcome of the lawsuit, but I do think it is likely in the long run at least.

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