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

Epic Games' ongoing battle with Apple over the distribution of Fortnite on iOS devices has escalated, with Epic alleging that Apple is blocking its Fortnite submission, preventing the game from being released on the U.S. App Store.

Earlier this month, Epic 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, which mandated Apple to allow developers to offer alternative purchasing options outside their apps.

Epic's Tim Sweeney remains steadfast in his mission to challenge Apple and Google, regardless of the duration of the conflict. Photo by SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg. In January, IGN highlighted Sweeney's investment of billions of dollars in his fight against Apple and Google's app store policies. Sweeney emphasized to IGN that this was a long-term investment in Epic and Fortnite's future, confident that Epic could sustain the legal battle for decades.

Sweeney's efforts to bring Fortnite back to iOS and Android devices without paying the standard 30% store fees have been extensively covered. Epic prefers to operate Fortnite through its Epic Games Store, bypassing Apple and Google's fees. This disagreement led to Fortnite's exclusion from iOS in 2020.

Despite Sweeney's recent announcement, Fortnite has yet to return to iOS. Epic provided an update to 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 stated, "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."

The Judge also referred Apple and its vice president of finance, Alex Roman, to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation, criticizing Roman's testimony about Apple's compliance with the injunction as misleading and false.

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 in the Epic Games case.