Fortnite finally returns to iPhone around the world – except one major nation

Quick Summary

Fornite is available on the Apple App Store worldwide once again.

A supreme court ruling has allowed the game to return as Apple's "junk fees" are not allowed to stand.

Apple now offers legendary game Fortnite on its App Store once again, after it had gone unavailable following legal issues.

The online multiplayer game's maker, Epic Games, announced that the game was back on the App Store worldwide via a post on its website.

The game was previously not available via Apple after legal issues surrounding the company's "junk fees" which developers were being forced to pay, Epic said.

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Until recently companies like Epic Games were required to pay commissions to Apple on sales made through third-party payment systems.

Apple now knows that the U.S. federal court will force the company to be transparent around what it charges as part of its App Store fees.

Epic Games says it will return to the App Store with Fortnite as it is "confident that once Apple is forced to show its costs, governments around the world will not allow Apple junk fees to stand."

Epic Games posted that it "will continue to challenge Apple’s anticompetitive App Store practices of banning alternative app stores and competition in payments."

This stand has seen support worldwide with laws being passed to address these practices. Some areas to support developers in the battle to avoid this "Apple tax" include the UK, Japan and European Union.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said on X: "This is a critical moment in the battle against the App Store empire to win freedom for all developers and consumers, and we’ll continue the fight in every jurisdiction worldwide until competition is restored to digital stores and payment markets everywhere."

Will Apple stop App Store tax?

According to Sweeney: "For years, Apple has fragmented iOS features and fees by territory, taking regulatory negotiating positions in secret, and intentionally delaying the pursuit of justice."

On this recent shift he says, "We see this as the beginning of the end of the Apple Tax worldwide."

The company has not returned to the Australia App Store -despite winning its court case there - as Apple is "unlawfully" not meeting legal requirements and Epic can't join there, it claims.

So while many get to play Fornite on their iPhones once again, the backdrop is a battle of Epic proportions that even a Fortnite scale battle would struggle to compare to.

Luke is a freelance writer for T3 with over two decades of experience covering tech, science and health. Among many things, Luke writes about health tech, software and apps, VPNs, TV, audio, smart home, antivirus, broadband, smartphones and cars. In his free time, Luke climbs mountains, swims outside and contorts his body into silly positions while breathing as calmly as possible.