Fortnite Will Return to iOS in Europe as Apple Plans to Allow Third-Party App Stores on iPhone

Fortnite will be making a return to iOS in Europe, Epic Games announced on January 25. The development occurred as Apple is now forced to open iOS to sideloaded apps and third-party app stores to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and is chasing a deadline of March 7. Reportedly, Apple is already working on making changes to its App Store and will likely make a separate version available in Europe. Epic Games could be one of the many app stores that become available in the region, and iPhone users may finally get to play Fortnite after waiting for four years.

In a post, the official handle of Epic Games Store revealed that Fortnite will make a comeback to iOS in Europe this year. It also added that the popular battle royale game will be added via the Epic Games Store for iOS. The post did not mention a launch date.

In a separate post, the company said, “Stay tuned for details as we figure out the regulatory timeline. We’ll continue to argue to the courts and regulators that Apple is breaking the law.”

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney also spoke against how Apple implements the DMA regulations, calling it a “malicious compliance.” In a long post, he said the Cupertino-based tech giant is forcing third-party app stores to accept “junk fees on downloads and new Apple taxes on payments they don’t process.”

Separately, he also said that a monopoly should not be allowed to decide what companies are allowed to compete with it after another user shared a list of agreements Apple sought from third-party app stores before allowing them on iOS.

Fortnite was removed from the App Store in 2020 after the iPhone maker banned Epic for encouraging users to make third-party in-app payments. Subsequently, Epic Games filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple. Just last week, the US Supreme Court denied the request to hear the dispute, resulting in a win for the tech giant.

The concern for Epic Games comes from its previous issues with the company, and with Apple still holding oversight into third-party apps, the possibility of the Fortnite-maker getting banned again still exists.