As one of the most popular live-service games in the world, Fortnite is often under the magnifying glass of different government agencies. Because of this, it is often the recipient or instigator of legal drama, with many taking aim at the financial nature of Fortnite. One of the most popular examples, the Epic Games vs. Apple case, may soon have its effects overturned.
For those unaware, Fortnite has been inaccessible from the Apple App Store since August 2020, when Apple removed it from the store. Now, due to a new law from the European Union called the Digital Market Acts, Apple has decided to allow multiple app marketplaces on the iOS platforms, likely before it was forced to. Apple is expected to implement the change by a 2024 deadline.
What this likely means is that Apple will now allow new digital storefronts like the Google Play store and other app stores to be downloadable on its phone. Through one of these new storefronts, it’s highly likely that Epic could once again find a way to get Fortnite back on iOS devices, while also avoiding the Apple App Store payment structure that it was trying to avoid in the first place.
This would likely be a welcome addition for Apple users who are fans of the game and previously played on its devices. But there are some caveats to this news. Since the law is only present in the EU, Apple may only enable this feature for European users, meaning that players in Asia, the Americas, Australia, and Africa still might not have access on iOS devices.
But there have been pushes from other governments like the U.S., who want to see more diversity in access to apps in digital spaces. Apple, on the other hand, is likely to want to keep users solely on the App Store for as long as it can. A lot is still uncertain about this new change to Apple’s business model and it may be a couple of months before we hear more.
The other major mobile developer, Android, has been allowing users to download other marketplaces and apps online for the last decade. One of the major things about Apple during this time was the exclusivity and internal networking of the different iOS products. Now that this exclusivity is soon to be gone, one has to wonder how Apple will adapt.
For now, iOS users should continue playing Fortnite on whatever devices they normally do outside of their phones. It’s likely that they’ll be able to play the game on the go soon, but Apple will need to announce the reach of this new feature and when it goes live.
