Epic’s Bold Move: Wants Judge To Force Fortnite Back On IPhone

Remember when Epic said that Fortnite would be returning to the App Store? It’s been a few weeks, and there’s still no sign of the game. This is why Epic is asking US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to compel Apple to allow Fortnite back into the App Store or at least review the game and approve it if it complies with Apple’s guidelines.

Epic wants the judge to compel Apple

When Epic announced that it would bring Fortnite back into the App Store, many assumed that it wouldn’t take that long. However, a recent update by Epic revealed that Apple still hasn’t approved the game. The company says that it submitted the game to Apple on May 9th. It then submitted an updated version with the latest updates, but Apple hasn’t approved that version either.

Apple apparently told Epic that it would only approve Fortnite if it complied with Apple’s guidelines, which Epic says it did. The situation also seems rather messy.

Epic says it couldn’t launch in the EU because Apple blocked its US submission. Apple responded by saying it only asked Epic to remove the US storefront to avoid affecting Fortnite’s availability elsewhere. But according to Epic, doing that would mean submitting separate versions of the app for different regions, something that goes against Apple’s own rules.

On unfriendly terms

It is unclear why Apple is taking so long. It’s no secret that Apple and Epic aren’t on the best terms. Both companies have been embroiled in a lawsuit over the past few years. Epic wasn’t too happy with Apple’s cut from app store sales and in-app purchases. It’s not hard to see why, though.

Companies like Apple and Google typically take a 30% cut of app sales and in-app purchases. For Epic, this represents a lot of money. Fortnite was making millions at its peak, which means that Apple was taking away hundreds of thousands of dollars for essentially hosting the game in its store.

While Apple more or less won the lawsuit against Epic, it was forced to make changes to the App Store. One change is to allow developers to point users to outside payment systems, which would, in essence, allow developers to skirt around paying Apple the 30% cut. However, the company still insisted on taking a cut, which led to a class action lawsuit filed by over 100,000 developers.

That being said, it should be noted that the judge never ruled that Apple be required to allow Fortnite to return to the App Store. Epic’s only recourse here is that the judge find that Apple is once again in contempt of court.