Fortnite vs Apple: While the tiff between Apple and Epic Games is a rather big one, Epic Games is now making an effort to get Fortnite back on iOS platforms. Fortnite will make a comeback on iOS platforms via Nvidia NOW, but its return as an app is a rather far fetched dream.
Where it all began
The whole tiff started when Epic Games came up with an in-game purchasing system for Fortnite on iOS devices, which Apple alleged went against the guidelines issued by them.
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As a result, App Store imposed a bad on Epic Games on its platform and revoked the rights it had to the developer tools. Apple continued to blame Epic Games and said they were looking at having a free ride, whereas Epic Games urged that Apple’s decision of taking a 30% cut was unfair and anti-competitive. The case was further taken to the federal court.
Apple will no longer allow users to sign into Fortnite using “Sign In with Apple” as soon as September 11, 2020. If you used “Sign In with Apple”, please make sure your email and password are up to date. https://t.co/T0Rq0tfrR7
— Fortnite Status (@FortniteStatus) September 9, 2020
The hearing took place in October, and Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers said that Apple was not in any capacity to block Epic Games’ developer account that supports the Unreal engine, which is owned by Epic. However, this stance by the judge doesn’t confirm that Apple will bring back Fortnite to the App Store either.
“Epic Games and Apple are at liberty to litigate against each other, but their dispute should not create havoc to bystanders.” – Judge Rogers
The judgement continued to say, Apple and Epic Games have separate agreements for their developer programs, which have not been breached. As a result, terminating the developer support for Unreal Engine is unfair on Apple’s part.
What happened then
This whole fiasco gave birth to a new coalition, known as the Coalition for App Fairness. Started by the top guns at Epic, Tile and many other companies, the coalition’s main aim is to cut down the commission that Apple takes from various apps on the App Store.
Apple seems to love user choice when it’s used against competitors like Facebook, but opposes choice when it means other companies competing with them: choice in app stores, choice in payment methods, choice in game streaming services. pic.twitter.com/tBezrXqOxl
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) December 17, 2020
In October, Microsoft also penned down the list of changes they will make in the app store and took a dig at Apple at the same time. Their changes are in direct contradiction with that of Apple’s.
So, to cut to the chase, Fortnite will make a comeback to iOS devices but only through Safari browser courtesy Nvidia NOW, but Fortnite’s return to iOS platform as a full-fledged app looks like a long chase.