Epic Games' Fortnite Won't Come Back to the App Store Until May 2021

by Frank Stich

Apple has received permission from Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers to ban Fortnite in the App Store. Even though the game's developer, Epic Games, has urged to put Fortnite back on the App Store before the end of the lawsuits, now it is definitely not going to happen.

The next trial on the Epic Games and Apple’s case is scheduled for May 3, 2021. Although Fortnite, like other apps from Epic Games, will not return to the App Store yet, Cupertino's company does not have the right to block the developers' accounts who made apps with Unreal Engine. The judge believes that the two parties' litigation should not affect third-party developers in any way.

Before Fortnite’s removal from the App Store, the number of its players on iOS was 73 million out of total 116 million. About 2,5 million users of Apple devices visited the game every day. On all platforms, this figure was 25 million.

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The Internet ProtocolFrank Stich

Recall that the judge agreed with Apple that Epic Games violated Apple's rules, and a 30% commission for developers is absolutely normal. The judge also proposed an option to bring Fortnite back to the App Store.

An alternative solution is as follows: Epic Games should send the money earned from the game to an escrow account, where the funds will be kept until the end of the trial. These are the funds that Apple demanded from the developer for violating the contract with the App Store. The amount of costs has not been determined, but it is reported that Epic Games has earned more than $600 million on the iOS platform.