Fortnite Officially Returns to the iPhone — in the EU
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Although it will likely be a very chilly day in the underworld when Apple lets Epic Games back on its official App Store, users in the European Union can once again enjoy Fortnite on their iPhones.
It was touch and go for a while, but when the EU’s Digital Markets Act mandated that Apple open up the iPhone to third-party app marketplaces, Epic Games was first in line to set up the Epic Games marketplace for the iPhone under the new rules.
Epic’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, has been vocal about his opposition to Apple’s policy changes, stating that the company is doing the bare minimum and going so far as to accuse it of “malicious compliance” — adopting the letter of the EU’s DMA but doing it in such a way as to passive-aggressively penalize anyone who chooses to take advantage of it.
So, it probably wasn’t surprising when Apple torpedoed Epic’s attempt to open its new EU app marketplace, with Apple Fellow and App Store boss Phil Schiller calling Epic “verifiably untrustworthy.” However, following a backlash from the court of public opinion — and likely a few harsh words from European Commission regulators — Apple relented and allowed Epic Games to open a developer account in the EU and begin the process of creating its own app marketplace under the new rules.
As of today, that’s become a reality. The Epic Games Store has officially opened to iPhone users in the European Union, bringing Fortnite with it.
The Epic Games Store can be downloaded and installed here, but it will only work if you’re in one of the 27 EU member countries. Everyone else can see the install button, but clicking it promptly tells you they’re not eligible.
While Fortnite is the premiere launch title, there are a handful of other games available on the Epic Games Store, although it’s still a small catalog. Epic plans to increase that library over time and hopes to hit 100 million mobile downloads before the end of the year — an ambitious goal considering it’s limited to the EU.
Epic has been one of the most vocal opponents of Apple’s closed app ecosystem and has pushed for open app marketplaces for years. It was this aggressive stance that got Fortnite permanently banned from the App Store in 2020, and it’s only due to the EU’s DMA that it’s been able to make a partial return.
However, it’s a somewhat Pyrrhic victory for Epic Games, as Fortnite continues to be blocked from iPhones in the rest of the world. After several appeals in its landmark case against Apple, Epic lost on nine out of ten counts, with the court siding only on Apple’s anti-steering rules — the rather preposterous restriction that prevents developers from even telling users that they can purchase or subscribe to digital goods and services outside of in-app purchases.
Fortnite has returned, but Apple is still collecting fees from Epic in the form of a “Core Technology Fee” (CTF) that requires developers to pay 0.50 euros for every install of the Epic Games Store each year, plus every game downloaded from the store. Epic Games aims for 100 million iPhone app installs by the end of this year, which could have it paying Apple around 100 million Euros by the time the dust settles. That’s probably less than the 30% Apple was taking from Fortnite in-game purchases on the App Store, but Epic insists it’s far too much. It seems to believe those fees should be zero.
While Epic is embracing Apple’s more relaxed EU app policies, it’s still aggressively pushing for a world without restrictions on what can be installed on the iPhone — and certainly one that frees it from paying Apple for the privilege.
