Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Epic Games’ apps are officially off the Apple App Store

By

Apple has pushed through with the termination of Epic Games’ developer account on its App Store, removing its apps from the digital storefront.

Recommended Videos

The legal dispute between Apple and Epic Games has further escalated after popular battle royale shooter Fortnite was taken down from the App Store.

Related

Apple said that it will remove Epic’s account, which will affect all of the developer’s other iOS games and will also prevent it from rolling out updates to players who have previously downloaded the apps.

“We are disappointed that we have had to terminate the Epic Games account on the App Store,” Apple said in a statement to Digital Trends, adding that Epic has refused to follow the court’s recommendation to comply with the App Store’s rules, and has instead repeatedly submitted Fortnite updates that violate the guidelines.

“This is not fair to all other developers on the App Store and is putting customers in the middle of their fight. We hope that we can work together again in the future, but unfortunately, that is not possible today,” the statement said.

Digital Trends has also reached out to Epic Games for comments, and we will update this article as soon as we hear back.

Apple vs. Epic Games, explained

The Apple-Epic Games feud started when Epic attempted to bypass the 30% commission that Apple collects from in-app transactions in Fortnite by offering a feature that allows players to make purchases directly from the developer at a discount.

Apple responded by removing Fortnite from the App Store, and the Google Play Store followed suit.

Apple told Epic that it will terminate its developer accounts and cut it off from iOS and Mac development tools on August 28. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, however, granted Epic a partial restraining order that will allow it to continue working on its Unreal Engine gaming platform, but it did not cover the return of Fortnite to the App Store.

The next hearing in the legal dispute between Apple and Epic is scheduled for September 28.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Aaron Mamiit
Aaron Mamiit
Contributor
Aaron received a NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was 4 years old, and he has been fascinated with…
Fortnite is coming back to iOS, but Epic Games still isn’t happy about it
Solid Snake aiming a pistol out of a box in Fortnite.

Fortnite is set to come back to iOS in Europe sometime in 2024. This will mark the first time a natively running version of Fortnite will be available on iOS since Apple removed the game from the App Store in 2020.

Apple did so at the time because Epic tried to use its own third-party payment system, kicking off a series of legal battles in an attempt to get Apple to open up its platform more. Although those legal battles have yielded mixed results for Epic, a newly passed Digital Markets Act in the European Union is forcing Apple to do things like "allow third parties to inter-operate with the gatekeeper’s own services in certain specific situations" and "allow their business users to promote their offer and conclude contracts with their customers outside the gatekeeper’s platform."

Read more
Apple eases App Store restrictions to allow game-streaming apps
App Store on-screen illustration

Apple is easing up on its App Store guidelines so that it's now possible to "provide access to mini apps and games" within other apps.

While that may sound a bit confusing, it essentially means that a company like Microsoft can now release an iOS Xbox Game Pass app that supports Xbox Cloud Gaming and lets players stream multiple games right from that app. To use Xbox Cloud Gaming on an Apple device right now, you'd need to use the web browser version of the technology, which isn't as convenient or stable as streaming from Xbox consoles or official PC and Android apps.

Read more
Google loses landmark antitrust lawsuit against Epic Games
Tinder on the GooglePlay App Store.

Google has lost a landmark case against Epic Games after a jury decided on Monday that the web giant operates an illegal monopoly via its Android app store.

The decision was announced at the end of a month-long trial that itself was part of a longer legal dispute between Google and Epic Games that’s been rumbling on since 2020.

Read more