Following the EU's decision to designate Apple's iPadOS as another digital “gatekeeper” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations, Fortnite maker Epic Games confirmed it will be bringing its popular battle royale game to the iPad later this year will bring. The company had previously announced that Fortnite would return to iPhones in the EU as a result of the DMA, which forces Apple to compete with alternative app stores, such as Epic's Game Store.
In a message on X On Monday, Epic Games praised the EU's decision around the iPad, saying it was “full steam ahead” to bring Fortnite to the Epic Games Store in the EU “soon” and iPads later this year.
The rivalry between Epic and Apple has been going on for years, after Epic sued the tech giant over its alleged anti-competitive behavior regarding its App Store and commission structure. While Apple largely won that case, as the court ruled that the tech giant wasn't a monopoly, it did have to allow developers to direct their customers to other ways to pay from within their apps — a point for Epic that had a broader impact in the whole world. developer community.
Later, when Apple unveiled its plan to comply with the EU's DMA, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney called Apple's new rules a form of “malicious compliance” that was “full of junk fees” and vowed to combat them . Apple responded by terminating Epic Games' developer account and calling the game maker a “threat” to the iOS ecosystem. Shortly after the EU began investigating Apple's decision to terminate Epic's account, Apple reinstated it.
Whether Epic Games will be able to bring Fortnite to the iPhone and iPad as planned remains to be seen, given Apple's responses so far. However, it does indicate that Epic plans to compete with Apple through its own games store on Apple's top platforms.
