‘Fortnite’ unavailable on Apple devices worldwide

Fortnite unavailable on Apple devices. (Pexels)

Hit game “Fortnite” was unavailable on Apple’s digital App Store around the world on Friday, in the latest episode of a battle between the tech titan and publisher Epic Games.

While Fortnite with its millions of daily players was already unavailable to iPhone users in the United States, the block on downloads of the cartoonish multiplayer shooter now affects the entire globe.

“Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission... sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it,” Epic posted on X.

Apple did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.

Epic has for years battled tech giants over the commissions they charge for software downloaded through the official stores on operating systems like Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.

These are historically the only way for most users to install programs onto their devices.

Although it has secured wins in US courts and European Union digital regulations, Epic on Friday effectively accused Apple of slow-walking the vetting process it enforces before making an app or game available for users to download.

Epic said last week that it had submitted “Fortnite” for review for listing in the App Store in the United States.

As well as being “blocked” there, the publisher added that “Fortnite” was also unavailable in the European Union.

Fans there can usually download the game through the company’s own app store as the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which went into effect last year, requires Apple and other US tech giants to open up their platforms to competition.

Epic did not immediately respond to AFP’s questions about why “Fortnite” was unavailable in Europe.

‘Junk fees’

“Fortnite” is a heavyweight of the gaming world, with Epic claiming around 500 million users in 2023.

But players have grown used to upsets as the publisher has filed legal cases against both Apple and Google over what it calls “junk fees”.

Apple’s commissions for App Store purchases, which can range as high as 30 percent, come “at the expense of consumers and developers”, the company wrote on X last week.

Epic has faced off against Apple in US courts since 2021, when “Fortnite” was banned from the App Store over what Apple said was an attempt to get around the iPhone maker’s payment system.

A judge found that the App Store was anticompetitive as it forbade developers from offering alternative avenues for payment.

But the conflict has endured past the US court order and the EU’s requirement that Apple and Google allow third-party app stores on their operating systems.

A U.S. federal judge said earlier this month that Apple was failing to comply with her three-year-old order that emerged from Epic’s case, which requires the iPhone maker to allow other avenues for users to buy content or services.

Epic quickly capitalised on the new court action, submitting Fortnite afresh to be vetted for inclusion in the App Store.

“We don’t have an update on our Fortnite submission to the App Store. Apple has neither accepted nor rejected it,” chief executive Tim Sweeney wrote on X Thursday.

Revenue stream

Apple had made a priority of building up its services business as the Silicon Valley titan tries to reduce its reliance on iPhone sales for revenue.

The unit, which includes Apple’s television and music streaming services along with iCloud data storage and App Store income, now accounts for more than a quarter of the company’s revenue.

Apple last week sought to delay a part of the court order that blocks it from charging commissions on transactions outside the App Store, Bloomberg reported.

The App Store changes include letting app makers use alternate payment systems free or charge or commission.

Epic had cast the order as an opening of the floodgates to allow other software developers to escape Apple’s fees.

Swedish music streaming service Spotify was among the first to take advantage of the ruling, offering links in its iOS app to purchase subscriptions outside the App Store.