Fortnite makes grand return to iOS App Store and promises showdown with Apple

• Fortnite is making a global return to the iOS App Store
• This comes ahead of the 'final battle' (their words, not ours) between Epic and Google
• The saga kicked off all the way back in 2020 and now seems to be coming to an end

After finally making a return to Google Play earlier this year, the Fortnite saga that kicked off all the way back in 2020 seems to be coming to a close. Now, according to Epic themselves, Fortnite is once more available on the iOS App Store worldwide, except for in Australia.

But things still haven't come to a complete end. Epic Games is already predicting that Apple's 'junk fees' will be the next victim of a judgment from the U.S. Supreme Court, and that this will set a global precedent that could see Apple's rates slashed by legislators. As you might expect, Epic are quick to couch this in very grandiose terms as the 'final battle.'

Tim Sweeney and Epic as a whole threw down the gauntlet to Apple and Google back in 2020 when they bypassed the in-app transaction system to offer discounted microtransactions through their own storefront. Fortnite was quickly axed from the main players, and since then, the judgment has swung back and forth in either party's favour.

Sweeney Tim

Now, I don't for a second think that Epic's goals are entirely altruistic, no matter what they may say. Epic were happy enough to cut a deal with Google despite pitching their resistance to the App Store fees as being an existential battle for the soul of gaming. Of course, that doesn't mean my sympathies lie with storefront owners who have made some pretty shady moves over the years.

However, even if Epic does come out of this fight squeaky clean, Fortnite is on the wrong side of a decade old by now. And while it's still going strong, it may be fair to say that it's past its peak. It might take a few years, or even another decade, but we'll soon know whether Sweeney's crusade against the app stores was worth it for them.