For the first time in over four years, Fortnite appears set to return to the Apple App Store in the United States (US) next week.
In a post on social media, Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said that the company will bring the game back to the mobile store. The decision comes after a Northern District of California court issued a ruling against Apple, forcing them to stop enforcing extra fees on purchases made outside of apps.
In addition to announcing that Fortnite will return to the Apple App Store and iOS, Sweeney said that they will make a deal with Apple that will bring it back to iOS app stores globally. Currently, the game is available on iOS in the European Union only.
“If Apple extends the court’s friction-free, Apple-tax-free framework worldwide, we’ll return Fortnite to the App Store worldwide and drop current and future litigation on the topic,” Sweeney said.
While Sweeney said that Fortnite will return to the App Store in the United States next week, no exact date was announced.
As mentioned, the decision to return Fortnite to the Apple App Store comes after a ruling from Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers states that Apple can’t collect fees on any purchase made outside of apps. Up until now, Apple enforced a policy that required developers to pay a commission should its users make any purchases for the app outside of the app itself. The ruling says that not only can Apple no longer collect those fees, but they can no longer restrict any sort of styling or formatting of links outside the app itself or block and/or limit the use of calls to action.
Insider Gaming has reached out to Apple for comment. As of publishing, no response has been received.
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Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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