The bitter App Store saga surrounding the policy dispute between Epic Games and Apple has reached a remarkable milestone that will make “Fortnite” fans happy. Today, the Epic Games Store for iOS has finally launched and is reopening the doors for the installation of “Fortnite” on iPhones after a long absence. However, there is one major caveat here.
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Epic’s Store app was launched only for the EU market, and only thanks to a policy change in the bloc that allows alternative app stores and sideloading on iPhones. Just to be clear, “Fortnite” is still not officially available on the App Store in the EU or anywhere else. The only way to play “Fortnite” on an iPhone for non-European users is through cloud-based game streaming services like Amazon Luna, Xbox Cloud and Nvidia GeForce Now.
“Thanks to the Digital Markets Act, we are launching on iOS devices in the European Union, but Apple continues to block all other iOS users outside of Europe from accessing Fortnite and the Epic Games Store for iOS,” Epic said in an official statement. In addition to an iOS launch, the gaming giant has also launched its store on Android with a selection of three titles: “Fortnite,” “Rocket League Sideswipe,” and “Fall Guys.”
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Epic plans, epic hurdles for mobile “Fortnite”
Epic has launched three games at once through its app marketplace in the EU, but the ultimate goal is to become a full-fledged alternative to the App Store – at least for games. The company is keeping its doors open in both directions, however. Epic is already in talks with developers and stakeholders to offer popular titles like Fortnite on other alternative app marketplaces. For now, Epic’s games are already available for download in Europe on AltStore PAL and will soon appear on the Aptoide store for iPhone users in the region.
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However, the process of installing “Fortnite” from the Epic Store on iPhones is not entirely straightforward. Users must first confirm Epic Store as a trusted source for package installation in the Settings app on their phone. Once they give Epic the green light, users can download “Fortnite” – or the other two games – from Epic’s online store.
Epic says the entire process is lengthy and requires “many steps” before you can launch the game. To help users, the company has posted a tutorial video on YouTube. Epic blames Apple and Google for the lengthy process, which “intentionally provide poor installation quality” and “scare screens.” Apple, for its part, has repeatedly argued that it simply wants to inform users that downloading apps from sources other than the App Store can be a risky business.
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A win for gamers on the iPhone
The ugly back-and-forth between Apple and Epic began when Epic introduced its own in-app payment system in 2020 that allowed “Fortnite” players to purchase items at a discounted price. Apple (and Google) promptly banned the game from their app marketplaces. “Apple and Google have developed and distributed a tangled web of rules and policies to impose a 30 percent tax on apps while preventing competitors from offering a better deal,” Epic said in a response titled “Free Fortnite.”
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The latest change is good news for Fortnite fans, at least in the EU. Fortnite was once one of the most popular and highest-grossing games, but its departure from Apple’s marketplace proved to be a major setback for the competitive gaming ecosystem that had formed around the game – a setback that turned players like Tyler “Ninja” Blevins into real stars and earned them millions of dollars. With an official return to the EU, Fortnite can now hope for a solid revival in the iPhone user community.
The bigger push, however, will come from Google’s Android community. In addition to iOS, Epic’s mobile store is launching on Android today. Unlike the Europe-only arrangement for iPhones, Android users worldwide will be able to download the game from the Epic Games Store to their phone. They no longer have to go through cloud gaming to get to a battle royale, with all its latency issues and bandwidth requirements. Just like on iOS, users will have to whitelist Epic’s store before they can download “Fortnite” to their Android phone.
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