Epic Claims Apple Blocks Fortnite's U.S. App Store Return, Sweeney Tweets Cook in Protest

Epic Games' ongoing dispute with Apple over the distribution of Fortnite on iOS devices has escalated once again. Epic has accused Apple of blocking its Fortnite submission, preventing the game from being released on the U.S. App Store.

Earlier this month, Epic's CEO, Tim Sweeney, announced that Fortnite would soon return to the U.S. iOS App Store following a significant court ruling. On April 30, a U.S. Federal District Court in California ruled that Apple had willfully violated a court order in the Epic Games v. Apple case. The order mandated Apple to allow developers to offer alternative payment methods outside of their apps.

Epic's Tim Sweeney remains steadfast in his mission to challenge Apple and Google, no matter the duration. Photo by SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg. In January, IGN highlighted Sweeney's substantial financial commitment to this battle, noting his expenditure of billions in the fight against Apple and Google's app store policies. Sweeney views this as a long-term investment in Epic and Fortnite's future, confident that Epic can sustain the battle for decades.

Sweeney's efforts to bring Fortnite back to iPhones and Android devices, bypassing the standard 30% store fees, are well-documented. Epic prefers to distribute Fortnite through its Epic Games Store, avoiding the revenue cuts imposed by Apple and Google. This conflict led to Fortnite's removal from iOS in 2020.

Despite Sweeney's earlier tweet suggesting an imminent return of Fortnite to iOS, the game remains unavailable. Epic recently updated IGN, stating, "Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it."

Hi Tim. How about if you let our mutual customers access Fortnite? Just a thought.

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) May 15, 2025

Following the court's ruling, Apple was referred to federal prosecutors for violating the U.S. court order. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers emphasized, "Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated. This is an injunction, not a negotiation. There are no do-overs once a party willfully disregards a court order."

Judge Rogers also referred Apple and its Vice President of Finance, Alex Roman, to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation due to misleading testimony regarding Apple's compliance with her injunction. In response, Apple stated, "we strongly disagree with the decision. We will comply with the court’s order and we will appeal." Last week, Apple requested a pause on the ruling from the U.S. appeals court.