Epic Games on Friday submitted Fortnite to the U.S. App Store for approval by Apple, and if approval is granted, the game will be available to iPhone and iPad owners in the United States for the first time since 2020.
We’ve submitted Fortnite to Apple for review so we can launch on the App Store in the U.S.
— Fortnite (@Fortnite) May 9, 2025
As you might expect, Fortnite will include an option to purchase in-app currency from the web rather than via in-app purchase, which is basically what caused all of the hullabaloo between Epic Games and Apple in the first place, leading to all sorts of legal wrangling.
Unfortunately for Apple, they are forced to allow Epic Games (and other developers) to direct customers to purchase options outside of the App Store. (I wonder if they’ll be cheaper when buying them outside of the App Store? I guess we’ll see.)
Since Epic Games US developer account was shut down in 2020, thanks to the Apple vs. Epic Games court battle, the company is using its Swedish developer account to submit the game to the App Store. The Swedish Epic account was created last year to allow the company to creat an Epic Games marketplace in the European Union, as is now allowed by the Digital Markets Act.
While Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney says Apple is aware of his company submitting the game via the Epic Games Sweden subsidiary, he did not say whether or not Apple was cool with the move, so Apple may not approve the submission. Earlier this week, Sweeney said he would be “very surprised” if Apple “decided to brave the geopolitical storm of blocking a major app from iOS.”
While it’s possible that Apple may reject the Fortnite submisison, it may be reluctant to do so, as it might further anger the judge overseeing the case, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. Apple has already approved app submittals with external purchase links from Amazon Kindle, Patreaon, Spotify, and others.
Apple on Wednesday filed an emergency motion asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to put on hold key portions of a recent ruling that makes drastic changes to how the company’s App Store operates. While Apple asked the appeals court to issue a ruling by May 28, the App Store link changes will remain in pplace until Apple hears from the court.
