Fortnite developer Epic Games has revealed that Apple has blocked the game’s return to iOS.
Following the rejection, Fortnite is unavailable on iPhones and iPads even in the European Union, where it had previously been available to download through the Epic Games Store.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the official Fortnite account stated, “Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union.”
“Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it,” it added.
Notably, the game is no longer available to download on iOS from the Epic Games Store or the alternative marketplace AltStore PAL in the EU.
Speaking to The Verge, Apple spokesperson Olivia Dalton stated, “We asked that Epic Sweden resubmit the app update without including the US storefront of the App Store so as not to impact Fortnite in other geographies.”
“We did not take any action to remove the live version of Fortnite from alternative distribution marketplaces,” Dalton added.
Epic resubmitted Fortnite to the US App Store this month following a recent ruling in Epic’s lawsuit against Apple, and that ruling prohibited Apple from restricting developers’ ability to link to external payment systems, one of the issues that had started their long-running legal battle.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney announced that the company had pulled its previous Fortnite submission and submitted a new version that included an update due to release today, noting that “all platforms must update simultaneously.”
