In another dramatic twist in the ongoing battle between Epic Games and Apple, Epic has claimed that Apple is blocking Fortnite from appearing on the U.S. and EU App Stores, despite recent legal victories that were supposed to level the playing field for developers.

After winning a major lawsuit that forced Apple to allow external payment options in the U.S. App Store without charging a commission, Epic Games made a move to bring Fortnite back. The company submitted the game to the U.S. App Store on May 9, 2025.

Update Race Against Time

But for an entire week, Apple didn’t take any action. That delay led Epic to withdraw the submission and try again. According to Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, the withdrawal happened because Fortnite needs weekly updates with fresh content, and all platforms must be updated simultaneously to maintain consistency.

Epic resubmitted a new version of Fortnite on May 14, 2025, with the updated content. However, on Friday morning, Fortnite posted an update on X (formerly Twitter), saying:

“Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it.”

Apple Pushes Back

Epic also accused Apple of blocking the game in the European Union, making it impossible to release Fortnite in that region either.

Apple, however, disputed Epic’s claims. A spokesperson responded:

“We asked that Epic Sweden resubmit the app update without including the U.S. storefront of the App Store 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 in the EC.”