Alright, Fortnite fans—don’t get too hyped just yet. The game is coming back to the U.S. App Store… just not today. Or tomorrow. Or even Wednesday.
According to Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, the long-awaited return of Fortnite on iOS is still happening, but it’s not dropping before Thursday or Friday at the earliest. So yeah, the comeback tour is running a little behind schedule.
Quick Recap: Why Fortnite Disappeared in the First Place
If you’ve somehow missed the drama: Fortnite got booted from the App Store back in 2020 after Epic tried to sneak a direct payment option into the app—basically cutting Apple out of their sweet 30% commission on in-app purchases. Apple didn’t like that (surprise), and what followed was a full-on legal battle over App Store policies, developer rights, and payment freedom.
Fast forward to now: a federal judge recently ruled that Apple can’t block developers from linking out to third-party payment options anymore—and, maybe more importantly, can’t charge a 27% cut on purchases made through those links.
Yeah, that’s a huge win for Epic—and for every other developer who’s ever said, “Why is Apple taking a third of my money?”
So Where’s Fortnite?
Great question. Epic’s trying to re-launch Fortnite using their EU developer account (their U.S. account was terminated by Apple). But the submission process is apparently still ongoing, and there’s no confirmed launch day yet.
Sweeney’s been live-posting the whole saga like it’s a season finale:
“Not Monday or Tuesday.”
Then, “Not Wednesday.”
And most recently: “Still working on the update.”
So yeah—don’t expect to build and battle on iOS until at least the end of the week, if everything goes smoothly.
What Happens Next?
If Fortnite makes it through Apple’s review process, this could mark a huge shift in how apps handle payments going forward. We’re already seeing platforms like Stripe, Patreon, and Spotify start to move in this direction—so Epic’s fight might’ve actually changed the game (literally and figuratively).
And if you’ve been holding onto your Backbone controller? Get it charged up. The moment Fortnite returns, you’re gonna want to be ready.
TL;DR – Fortnite is coming back to the U.S. App Store, but not before Thursday or Friday. Epic’s still ironing things out, but we’re close. Real close.