Four years after leaving iOS, Fortnite is back — but only European players will be getting the drop this time.
The never-ending beef between Epic Games and Apple over the company’s App Store fees took its latest twist on Thursday, when the iPhone maker announced changes to iOS in the EU. In an effort to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a set of pro-competitive rules applied to regulate six of the biggest tech companies, Apple will begin allowing apps to be “sideloaded” — installed from sources beyond its App Store wall. garden.
The major changes will allow developers to distribute iOS apps through alternative channels or even create their own app markets. Apple has long resisted allowing iOS developers to sideload their apps, as Google Play allows, arguing that the practice would weaken the platform’s security and privacy standards.
In light of the changes, Epic plans to bring Fortnite, the hit battle royale game — which is now evolving into its own kind of digital marketplace — back to iOS this year. Fortnite’s iOS offering plan is coupled with Epic’s news that it will launch a version of the Epic Games Store on the platform in the EU.
Apple’s EU App Store overhaul is a major departure from the status quo, but Epic Games is tight-lipped about the details of how the iPhone maker will implement its DMA compliance. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney slammed Apple’s plans on Thursday, blasting the company’s stated plans as “hot garbage” plagued by junk fees.
Even as it continues to fight against Apple’s policies, Epic is gearing up for its iOS relaunch. In addition to developing Fortnite and the Unreal Engine, Epic also runs the Epic Game Store, a digital storefront for PC games that is also available on Mac. Like Apple, Epic brings in revenue as a digital owner through the Epic Game Store, though its 13% revenue share (developers keep 88%) and approach to in-app purchases is far less aggressive than its own policies Apple.
Epic apparently sees a lucrative future in continuing to build its business as a software marketplace. That vision is increasingly focused on Fortnite, which has evolved from a few third-person shooter game modes to a full-fledged Roblox-style portal to digital gaming. Fortnite now offers thousands of user-generated games alongside its classic battle royale, including a new trio of new titles developed by Epic themselves that offer survival, combat, and game-pace alternatives to Fortnite’s battle royale mode.
