Fortnite coming to iPhones 'pretty soon' and iPads later this year

Fortnite is coming back to Apple devices in Europe in 2024, starting first with iPhone and then iPad later in the year.

2

The European Union's new Digital Markets Act (DMA) has pried open the App Store and forced Apple to allow third-party stores on iPhones. The process isn't perfect, and there's still some compliance issues, but Apple will be forced to comply with the EU's new digital laws if it wants to sell products and services in Europe. Fortnite will come back to iPhone via a new Epic Games storefront that exists outside the App Store.

The European Commission has also found iPadOS to be a gatekeeper, so the DMA also applies to iPads. This means that Apple will need to allow and facilitate outside stores on their line of tablets as well. Thus, Fortnite will return to both iPhones (sometime soon) and iPads (sometime this year).

"The EU announced today that this also applies to iPads! Fortnite will return to iPhones in the EU pretty soon, AND iPads later this year!" Epic Games wrote on Twitter.

The Commission explains their findings:

The Commission's investigation found that Apple presents the features of a gatekeeper in relation to iPadOS, as among others:

Apple's business user numbers exceeded the quantitative threshold elevenfold, while its end-user numbers were close to the threshold and are predicted to rise in the near future.

• End users are locked-in to iPadOS. Apple leverages its large ecosystem to disincentivise end users from switching to other operating systems for tablets.
• Business users are locked-in to iPadOS because of its large and commercially attractive user base, and its importance for certain use cases, such as gaming apps.

On the basis of the findings of the investigation, the Commission concluded that iPadOS constitutes an important gateway for business users to reach end users, and that Apple enjoys an entrenched and durable position with respect to iPadOS. Apple has now six months to ensure full compliance with the DMA obligations as applied to iPadOS.