STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Apple has blocked the “Fortnite” video game on its iPhones in the U.S. and through the game maker’s own store in the European Union, its maker Epic Games said on Friday.
Access to Fortnite via Apple’s iPhone Operating System and through its App store will be unavailable worldwide until Apple unblocks it, Epic Games said.
Epic Games did not give a reason why Fortnite was blocked, but Apple said it had asked Epic Sweden to resubmit the app update without including the U.S. storefront so as not to impact Fortnite in other geographies.
“We did not take any action to remove the live version of Fortnite from alternative distribution marketplaces,” an Apple spokesperson said.
Epic, a U.S.-based studio, backed by China’s Tencent, is the world’s largest game studio. It was launched in 2017 and its last-player-standing, “battle royale” format became an instant hit, drawing millions of players.
Since 2020, however, it has been in a legal battle with Apple, after the gaming firm alleged that Apple’s practice of charging up to 30% in commission on in-app payments violated U.S. antitrust rules.
Apple banned Fortnite from its store in 2020 but allowed the game back last year following pressure from European Union authorities for Big Tech companies to comply with the bloc’s Digital Markets Act.
Last year, it also approved Epic Games’ games marketplace app on iPhones and iPads in Europe.
Epic Games also won a case against Apple earlier this month.
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm, additional reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; editing by Barbara Lewis)
