Epic Games will launch a new season of Fortnite tomorrow, which will see the game updated with new content, map updates, new content, and new objectives. However, this time around, Mac and iOS players will be left out of the fun.
This morning, Epic Games confirmed that it will not remove the direct payment option from the Fortnite app on iOS devices, meaning the app will continue to be barred from the App Store. That also means Fortnite for iOS and Mac will not get access to the new season.
That also means when the new season launches, iOS and macOS Forniters will no longer be able to play the game against PC, Android, and game console players. There will now be two separate versions of the fame, with Chapter 2 Season 4 content available to Fortnite players on other platforms, and the non-updated version of Fortnite on Apple’s platforms.
Epic Games today told The Verge that cross-platform play will not be supported, meaning iPhone, iPad, and Mac Fortnite players will only be able to play with each other. So, if your fellow players are on other platforms, you’ll be left out in the cold until the Apple/Epic Games legal battle is settled.
Epic Games failed in its attempt to obtain a temporary restraining order from a Northern Califonia court to prevent Apple from blocking Fortnite updates and terminating its developer account. Unfortunately for the game developer, a judge on Monday ruled in favor of Apple about the Fortnite app.
The judge said Epic Games did not demonstrate irreparable harm, adding that the situation appears to be of its own making. She said that arguments from Epic fail to outweigh the “general public interest in requiring private parties to adhere to their contractual agreements or in resolving business disputes through normal, albeit expedited, proceedings.”
However, during the hearing Epic’s lawyers said that the company wouldn’t “go back into an anticompetitive contract.”
Epic has updated its FAQ with a similar statement:
Apple is asking that Epic revert Fortnite to exclusively use Apple payments. Their proposal is an invitation for Epic to collude with Apple to maintain their monopoly over in-app payments on iOS, suppressing free market competition and inflating prices. As a matter of principle, we won’t participate in this scheme.
Apple earlier this month removed Fortnite from the App Store, just hours after Epic Games debuted a new direct payment option to get around Apple’s in-app purchases rules that give the Cupertino firm a 30% cut of the action. Epic Games immediately filed a lawsuit against Apple for pulling Fortnite from the App Store.
Apple then told Epic Games it would terminate the company’s complete access to its App Store and app development tools. Epic Games said that Apple told it that on August 28, all access will be terminated.
Such a termination, which has been restrained by the judge, would also end Epic’s access to the development tools it uses to create software for the Unreal Engine it offers to third-party developers for use in their games. That move would likely have a significant impact on all of the Mac and iOS apps and games that use Epic’s Unreal Engine.
While it isn’t clear as to why Epic Games won’t update the macOS version of the game, as it is not distributed through the Mac App Store, it appears the developer is holding back on updates for all devices.