Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has tweeted a teaser about Fortnite’s return to the iOS platform in 2023. The app was removed from the App Store nearly three years ago for violating Apple’s App Store rules. The removal initiated a hot and heavy legal battle between Epic Games and Apple.
In a tweet to celebrate the new year, Sweeney said, “Next year on iOS!” followed by an image of a Fortnite character looking up at fireworks that spell out 2023.
Apple is expected to allow sideloading of apps, as well as alternative app stores with iOS 17 next year, as a move to comply with the newly passed DMA (Digital Markets Act) law in Europe. Sideloading and third-party app stores would allow Epic Games to bring Fortnite back to iOS, just not through the App Store.
The legal battle stretches back to 2020, when Apple 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 then filed a lawsuit against Apple for pulling Fortnite from the App Store.
Epic Games had been seeking a ruling from the court that would allow for third-party app stores and alternate methods of getting apps on iOS devices, but Epic Games largely lost the lawsuit, leading it to file an appeal. While Apple mostly won the suit, the judge did order Apple to allow developers to include in-app links to outside websites where payments could be accepted.
Apple also appealed, as it did not want to modify its App Store rules, which led to the current court battle. Epic Games argued in its appeal that Judge Gonzalez Roberts had “erred” in her judgment. The Epic Games document measures in at around 135 pages and details Epic’s arguments as to why it lost nine of ten counts.
Apple maintains that because it was not found to be guilty of anticompetitive behavior, the App Store rules should stand pat and that the district court did not have the authority to mandate an injunction.