Fortnite has never been on the App Store in the past two years. While players always find ways to make the impossible possible, the extremely popular battle royale game has been blocked on all iOS devices following Epic Games’ legal feud with the tech company Apple.
The ban took place when the studio violated the tech giant’s rules by overriding purchases on the App Store and implementing their very own shop directly in the game. Apple decided to remove the game completely from its platform and then a lawsuit was filed by the game publisher, with the latter losing the legal battle.
Fast forward to today, the stars are starting to align for Epic Games if a vague tease from the company’s very own CEO Tim Sweeney is anything to go by. The executive is teasing the potential return of Fortnite to iOS at some point this year.
“Next year on iOS,” Sweeney claimed on Twitter just hours before 2023 became the main focus. While the tweet is certainly vague and does not involve or mention Fortnite directly, the follow-up image showing the BR’s in-game celebration for the new year seems to suggest the narrative.
Of course, Sweeney’s tweet could mean anything since there is no official announcement whatsoever from Epic Games. And since the year just started, the possibility of playing Fortnite on Apple devices remains unknown. The tweet, however, is indeed indicative of the game’s possible return to iOS devices sometime this year.
There is no official word yet as to how exactly the studio would bring the game back to the platform. If rumors are true about Apple allowing third-party app stores with iOS 17, the game publisher could use this to its advantage. Only time can tell whether this would be a possibility.
It holds true that the legal battle between Epic Games and Apple had a huge historic scope. Given its size, Fortnite ’s return to iOS devices will be big, especially for fans and players, particularly for those who have been eagerly waiting.
