“Fortnite” maker Epic Games said Friday that Apple has blocked its latest try and bring back the favored video game within the US version of its App Store.
The Fortnite app can also be unavailable Apple devices within the European Union, despite previously being downloadable there through the Epic Games store. Epic pinned the download failures in Europe on Apple as well.
“Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS within the European Union,” Epic Games said in a post on Fortnite’s X account. “Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS shall be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it.”
Representatives for Apple and Epic Games didn’t immediately return requests for comment.
Fortnite has originally blocked from the US App Store in 2020, kicking off the continued years-long legal feud between Apple and Epic Games, which accused the iPhone maker of antitrust violations. The video game was made available on Apple devices in Europe last yr as a result of the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which required Apple to permit downloads in third-party app stores.
Epic Games and its CEO Tim Sweeney resubmitted the video game for reinstatement last week.
The resubmission got here after US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’s explosive ruling last month that Apple had violated a 2021 injunction order to open up its App Store.
In her ruling, Rogers said CEO Tim Cook “selected poorly” by directing employees to defy the previous injunction and that vp of finance Alex Roman had “outright lied” under oath – and referred the corporate for potential criminal charges.
Rogers also slapped Apple with fresh orders to stop charging a 27% fee on rivals like Epic who direct customers to make purchases outside the App Store and end restrictions on where developers can place links that lead customers away from the App Store.
Apple has asked a federal appeals court in California to pause Rogers’ ruling, claiming it could cost the corporate “billions” of dollars annually if left in place.
Meanwhile, Epic Games’ Sweeney had hinted at some difficulties with the Fortnite submission earlier this week, noting that his company had pulled its previous submission and submitted an updated version as a result of a pending software update.
“Apple’s App Review team must be free to review all submitted apps promptly and accept or reject in response to the plain language of their guidelines,” Sweeney said in an X post on Thursday. “App Review shouldn’t be weaponized by senior management as a tool to delay or obstruct competition, due process, or free speech.”
“Fortnite” maker Epic Games said Friday that Apple has blocked its latest try and bring back the favored video game within the US version of its App Store.
The Fortnite app can also be unavailable Apple devices within the European Union, despite previously being downloadable there through the Epic Games store. Epic pinned the download failures in Europe on Apple as well.
“Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS within the European Union,” Epic Games said in a post on Fortnite’s X account. “Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS shall be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it.”
Representatives for Apple and Epic Games didn’t immediately return requests for comment.
Fortnite has originally blocked from the US App Store in 2020, kicking off the continued years-long legal feud between Apple and Epic Games, which accused the iPhone maker of antitrust violations. The video game was made available on Apple devices in Europe last yr as a result of the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which required Apple to permit downloads in third-party app stores.
Epic Games and its CEO Tim Sweeney resubmitted the video game for reinstatement last week.
The resubmission got here after US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’s explosive ruling last month that Apple had violated a 2021 injunction order to open up its App Store.
In her ruling, Rogers said CEO Tim Cook “selected poorly” by directing employees to defy the previous injunction and that vp of finance Alex Roman had “outright lied” under oath – and referred the corporate for potential criminal charges.
Rogers also slapped Apple with fresh orders to stop charging a 27% fee on rivals like Epic who direct customers to make purchases outside the App Store and end restrictions on where developers can place links that lead customers away from the App Store.
Apple has asked a federal appeals court in California to pause Rogers’ ruling, claiming it could cost the corporate “billions” of dollars annually if left in place.
Meanwhile, Epic Games’ Sweeney had hinted at some difficulties with the Fortnite submission earlier this week, noting that his company had pulled its previous submission and submitted an updated version as a result of a pending software update.
“Apple’s App Review team must be free to review all submitted apps promptly and accept or reject in response to the plain language of their guidelines,” Sweeney said in an X post on Thursday. “App Review shouldn’t be weaponized by senior management as a tool to delay or obstruct competition, due process, or free speech.”
