Apple Blocks Fortnite on iPhone, Game Goes Offline for Global Players

Fortnite is unavailable across iOS devices around the world, Epic Games reveals. The company states Apple has blocked its latest bid to reinstate the battle royale game on the App Store in the US.

On X (formerly Twitter), the official Fortnite account explains, “Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union.” The statement continues, “Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it.”

As of the time of writing, it’s unclear why Fortnite was blocked by Apple within the US App Store. Neither company has made a statement regarding the specifics of the matter.

Last week, Epic Games submitted Fortnite to the US App Store in order for the game to return to iPhone following years of being unavailable. This came nearly a month after a judge ruled that Apple must allow third-party app and game developers to offer payment methods outside of the App Store. The judge also ruled that Apple is not to charge a commission on purchases made outside of an iOS app.

Fortnite was first pulled from the App Store in 2020 when Epic Games updated the title to include its own storefront, where it could charge players for V-Bucks and microtransactions. In an attempt to side-line Apple’s 30 percent commission structure, Epic Games provided an alternative storefront for players to use, outside of the App Store. It didn’t take long until Apple pulled the game entirely.

However, Fortnite returned to iPhones in Europe last year. Under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, Apple was forced to allow Epic Games to republish the title on iOS. That being said, due to the latest block, Fortnite is now unavailable even in the EU.