Gamers are celebrating the much-awaited return of Fortnite to the iOS App Store in the U.S., causing ‘Fortnite on iOS’ to trend online. A globally beloved battle royale video game, Fortnite is one of the biggest hits developed by Epic Games. After its shocking exit from the Apple Store back in 2020, the game is now finally back on iPhones, following some legal hiccups along the way.
Here’s everything to know about the game’s return to iOS.
Fortnite returns to iPhone App Store
Epic Games recently announced that Fortnite is finally making its return on iPhones and iPads in the U.S. The official X (formerly Twitter) post by Fortnite on May 20, 2025, states that the game is now available on the iOS App Store, as well as the Epic Games Store and AltStore in the European Union. The CEO of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney, re-posted the tweet, proudly stating, “we back fam.” The game’s return sparked the ‘Fortnite on iOS’ trend online.
The news comes almost five years after Apple removed Fortnite from its App Store. The decision was taken after Epic Games added an in-app payment system of its own to the game. It violated Apple’s rules, which led to the Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple Inc. lawsuit in 2020. The video game developer had challenged Apple’s practices of restricting in-app purchases other than those offered by Apple itself. However, a major court ruling by judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers limited Apple’s control over how developers earn revenue from their apps by prohibiting the company from collecting fees on purchase transactions made outside its App Store. (via The Verge)
On May 9, Epic Games resubmitted Fortnite to Apple. However, the submission was met with another hurdle, with Apple blocking the game’s return to the App Store. But after some back and forth, the game made its way back to the App Store on Tuesday following a resolution between both companies.
