Apple has lifted the ban on Epic allowing Fortnite to return to the App Store
Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney welcomed a “sign of goodwill” from Apple ending the four-year-old feud. However, during the release of Epic’s “2023 Year in Review”, the Swedish subsidiary of the video game publisher acquired a new developer account. The announcement coincides with Epic’s confirmation that it will launch its own iPhone store by the end of the year.
The conflict between Epic and Apple began when Fortnite broke App Store rules by offering direct billing for V-Bucks. This resulted in the removal of Fortnite and Epic’s developer accounts from the App Store by Apple.
Despite three years of legal battles, Apple refused to reinstate Epic’s developer account. However, with the intervention of the European Union, imposing the opening of the platform to “access controllers”, Apple was forced to grant a new developer account to Epic.