The boss of Epic Games intends to bring Fortnite back to iOS and iPhones in 2023. Two of his tweets display this ambition while Apple is considering allowing alternative application stores to compete with its App Store.
Banned from the App Store since 2020, Fortnite might come back to iOS and iPhone in the relatively near future. This is indeed what Tim Sweeney quite explicitly suggests. The boss of Epic Games – the studio that develops the famous battle royale game – published two tweets displaying his ambitions.
« Next year on iOS “, he wrote in the first message published on December 31, 2022. The next day, January 1, 2023, he replied to himself with a screenshot from Fortnite where we can see “ 2023 in a firework display in the sky.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) January 1, 2023
You don’t have to live to be the occupant of 221B Baker Street in London to understand that Tim Sweeney is showing here his desire to relaunch Fortnite on iPhones in the course of 2023. But is this really possible?
Take advantage of alternatives to the App Store
These two tweets from Tim Sweeney do not necessarily mean that he already has a specific plan to make the return of Fortnite to the iPhone a reality. However, the boss of Epic thus indicates that he is closely following the latest revelations concerning the opening of iOS to alternatives to the App Store. Indeed, Apple would consider allowing alternative stores to compete with its application store. This would undermine the very closed aspect of iOS, but would allow the Cupertino company to comply with a future European Union rule obliging platform publishers to create more favorable conditions for developers.
This would be a boon for Fortnite since iOS users might then download the game via the Epic Games Store. This is already what is done on Android where installing apps outside the Play Store nails has always been easier.
As a reminder, Fortnite’s ban on the App Store dates back to 2020. It came following the game offered in-app purchases bypassing the 30% commission charged by Apple on all transactions. This constituted a violation of the policy of the Californian giant. A long legal and media battle ensued between the two parties..
The hope of a real victory once morest Apple
During this encounter, Epic Games managed to obtain the relaxation of certain rules imposed by Apple on the App Store. Developers can indeed integrate links into their applications to offer transactions outside of Apple’s ecosystem and therefore avoid the commission. However, it was a half-hearted victory for Tim Sweeney whose primary objective was to prove Apple’s monopoly situation in order to force it to accept competition from alternative stores.
However, with the pressure put by the EU on Apple, Tim Sweeney — who never buried the hatchet — finally sees an opportunity to claim victory. We can be sure of one thing: if the apple does resign itself to allowing alternative stores to land on the iPhone, Epic Games will not be asked to jump at the chance.
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