Fortnite is back on the global App Store, says Epic Games

Epic Games has said that Fortnite is now back on the App Store worldwide, with one notable exception.

The company has again criticized what it calls “unwanted charges” from Apple and indicated that it expects to win a pending antitrust lawsuit against the iPhone maker…

Epic made the announcement today.

Fortnite is now back on the App Store worldwide, after Apple told the US Supreme Court that “regulators around the world are monitoring this case to determine the commission rate Apple can charge on purchases covered in huge markets outside the United States.”

Apple knows the US federal court will force it to be transparent about how it charges its App Store fees. Fortnite is returning to the App Store now because we are confident that once Apple is forced to show its costs, governments around the world will not allow Apple’s unwanted charges to continue.

Essentially, the gaming company claims that it is confident of achieving a favorable outcome in the lawsuit and therefore will not have to pay commissions to Apple on sales made through third-party payment systems.

CEO Tim Sweeney was particularly outspoken in an article on X.

For years, Apple has fragmented iOS features and fees by territory, secretly taking regulatory negotiating positions and intentionally delaying the pursuit of justice (…) we view this as the beginning of the end of the Apple tax worldwide (…)

This is a critical moment in the battle against the App Store empire to gain freedom for all developers and consumers, and we will continue the fight in every jurisdiction around the world until competition is restored to digital stores and payments markets around the world.

This was accompanied by the image above.

The company says it has not yet returned to the Australian App Store as it claims Apple is defying a court order.

Take from 9to5Mac

We’ll have to wait and see if Sweeney’s optimism is indeed reflected in the outcome of the trial, but I think it’s likely, at least in the long term.