Epic’s ongoing legal battle with Apple over the return of Fortnite to iOS devices has taken a new turn, with Epic accusing Apple of blocking its latest app submission, effectively preventing the game’s release on the U.S. App Store.
Earlier this month, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney announced that Fortnite would soon return to the U.S. iOS App Store, following a pivotal court ruling. On April 30, a U.S. Federal District Court in California determined that Apple had willfully violated a prior court order from the Epic Games v. Apple case. That order mandated Apple allow developers to direct users to external payment systems, bypassing Apple’s in-app purchase system.
Sweeney has long been vocal about his mission to challenge Apple and Google’s control over mobile app distribution. In January, IGN reported on how Sweeney had spent billions fighting both tech giants over their app store policies. At the time, he described the legal campaign as a strategic, long-term investment in the future of Epic and Fortnite, emphasizing that the company was financially prepared to sustain the fight for decades.
The core of the dispute centers on Apple’s 30% commission on in-app purchases. Epic refuses to pay this fee and instead aims to distribute Fortnite through its own platform—the Epic Games Store—on mobile devices, without Apple or Google taking a cut. This conflict originally led to Fortnite being removed from the iOS App Store in 2020.
After Sweeney’s recent announcement, fans expected Fortnite’s return to iPhones. However, no release followed. Now, Epic has provided an update to IGN:
“Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it.”
This development is a major setback for Epic, which has lost billions in potential revenue since Fortnite was removed from iOS nearly five years ago. In response, Tim Sweeney has taken to Twitter, directly addressing Apple CEO Tim Cook:
“Hi Tim. How about if you let our mutual customers access Fortnite? Just a thought.”
Hi Tim. How about if you let our mutual customers access Fortnite? Just a thought.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) May 15, 2025
Following the court’s finding of contempt, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers referred Apple and one of its executives, Alex Roman—Vice President of Finance—to federal prosecutors for criminal contempt. The judge criticized Roman’s testimony as “replete with misdirection and outright lies” regarding Apple’s compliance efforts.
“Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated,” Judge Rogers stated. “This is an injunction, not a negotiation. There are no do-overs once a party willfully disregards a court order.”
Apple responded at the time: "We strongly disagree with the decision. We will comply with the court’s order and we will appeal." Last week, the company filed a request with the U.S. appeals court to suspend the ruling while the appeal proceeds.
