Fortnite is finally returning to iOS in the US next week after almost five years

Remember when Epic released that hilarious 1984-style ad about how Apple was tyrants overseeing a monopoly on their app store? Well, it seems that almost five years later, things are finally close to being resolved, and Fortnite will return to iOS in the US very soon.

This all started in August 2020 when Epic Games tried to find a workaround for Apple’s policy of taking 30% of all purchases made via the App Store, which included buying Fortnite V-Bucks on an iOS device. Apple banned Fortnite from the store as a result and a lawsuit between the two companies began.

In 2023 Fortnite returned to iOS in all EU-member countries thanks to the Digital Markets Act, which in turn put pressure on the legal proceedings in the US to resolve. Things are finally close to being done, though, as Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has ruled that Apple is no longer allowed to charge a commission on purchases made outside of the App Store and cannot restrict developers from leading users to other storefronts.

Following this ruling, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney sent out a tweet saying that “We will return Fortnite to the US iOS App Store next week”, as well as extending a “peace offering”. Sweeney’s proposal is that if Apple extends this US-only ruling worldwide, Epic will drop all current and future litigation on the topic.

Whether that comes to pass remains to be seen, but if you’re a Fortnite player in the US who uses iOS devices, then you’re about to be able to drop back into matches, just in time for the new Star Wars collabs, including an exclusive Fortnite screening of Star Wars: Tales of the the Underworld.