Apple announced a host of changes for iOS users in the European Union that will start materialising in March this year. In view of these changes, Epic Games has announced that Fortnite will be “coming back” in Europe for iOS users in 2024. The game developer added that it will be available via the upcoming Epic Games Store that will launch after the changes in the EU induced by the new Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Fortnite shared the update via its official X (formerly Twitter) handles. The move comes after Apple altered its marketplace policies and will allow sideloading of apps in the EU in March. The company will allow “new options for distributing iOS apps from alternative app marketplaces…including new APIs and tools that enable developers to offer their iOS apps for download from alternative app marketplaces,” the press release noted.
The deadline set for compliance with the DMA regulations is March 7. Based on the announcement, the Fortnite maker may introduce one of the alternate marketplaces in the EU, and users of iPhones may finally taste Fortnite in their handsets after four years. However, the exact date or timeline of launch is unknown at the moment.
“Fortnite will return to iOS in Europe in 2024, distributed by the upcoming @EpicGames Store for iOS. Stay tuned for details as we figure out the regulatory timeline. We’ll continue to argue to the courts and regulators that Apple is breaking the law,” @EpicNewsroom posted on X.
Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney also shared his remarks on the new development. Sweeney said: “Apple’s plan to thwart Europe’s new Digital Markets Act law is a devious new instance of Malicious Compliance.”
He added that Apple is forcing developers to opt “between App Store exclusivity and the store terms, which will be illegal under DMA” and “junk fees on downloads and new Apple taxes on payments they don’t process.” For the unaware, Fortnite was removed from the Apple App Store in 2020 by Apple in the context of promoting third-party in-app payments.