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Fortnite may return to iOS by the end of the year

Fortnite may return to iOS by the end of the year

It looks like Fortnite may finally return to iOS sometime later this year. This would be a pretty big thing considering the butterfly effect that the popular battle royale’s removal caused. It has been two years since the removal of Fortnite and the legal battle between Apple and Epic Games, but it seems like things may change in the new year.

Of course, all this is speculation at this point, and all of it comes from Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, putting up a new year’s tweet. The post reads “Next year on iOS”, which doesn’t say much but is followed by an image of a Fortnite character looking up at fireworks in-game, which read 2023.

Back in 2020, Apple had decided to remove Fortnite from the App Store after Epic Games tried to circumvent the commission they’d have to pay for in-game Vbucks purchases by allowing direct payments. This was seen as a violation of Apple’s policies, subsequently leading to the battle royale’s deletion.

This ignited a massive spark between the two big companies, with Epic Games eventually filing a lawsuit against Apple Inc, calling them anti-competitive because they seem to have a monopoly over iOS, where they should be allowing other app stores. The case didn’t hold up in Epic’s favour but its ripples are still felt today.

So, how does Sweeney’s tweet hint at Fortnite’s much-awaited return to the App Store? Recently, Europe passed the new Digital Markets Act, which would force Apple to allow sideloading, i.e., letting third-party app stores function on its own platform. That is how the battle royale can come back.

It is expected that the company will open up sideloading when iOS 17 launches, which means players may be able to download Fortnite without the App Store by the end of this year. It remains to be seen whether or not all this works out, but the new EU guidelines are definitely in favour of what Epic Games has been preaching.

Download Fortnite now from the official website for Android, with XCloud being the best way iOS users can play.

Also, check out this list of the top battle royales to play on mobile!
Tanish Botadkar
Tanish Botadkar
Tanish is a freelance writer who's an absolute Marvel nerd. If he's not writing, he's probably rewatching anything related to Marvel so that he can spam his friends with theories. And if not that, he can be found gaming on his trusty PS4. While gaming is a passion for him, he also loves science and hopes to become a neuroscientist one day.