It’s the end of a long battle between Epic Games and Apple: Fortnite will finally be available on the iPhone. After being banned from the Apple App Store, Epic Games will be able to launch its own app store on the iPhone thanks to new European DMA rules.
This is an unexpected twist in the bubbling relationship between Apple and Epic Games (publisher of Fortnite): the Apple brand has finally decided to reintegrate Epic Games into its developer program, allowing it to launch its own app store on the iPhone in Europe.
As a reminder, Epic Games planned to take advantage of the implementation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in Europe, which aims to regulate the practices of large online platforms, to launch its own app store on the iPhone.
But, Apple deleted Epic Games’ developer account, arguing that the company was not A reliable work partner. The decision drew strong criticism, particularly from the European Commission, which announced that it would closely monitor the actions of Apple and other tech giants regarding the integration of the new European rules.
Apple Backtracks
Faced with mounting pressure, Apple eventually relented, allowing the American company Epic Games to re-sign the developer agreement and join the Apple Developer Program. The decision follows negotiations between the two companies, during which Epic Games committed to respecting Apple’s rules, including those related to DMA.
Mark Gurman, one of the most prominent Apple analysts, confirmed the newsstating: ” Apple Walks Back on Epic Ban: Following discussions with Epic, they have committed to complying with the rules, including our DMA policies. As a result, Epic Sweden AB was allowed to re-sign the developer agreement and accepted into the Apple developer program. “
Apple has so far maintained a hard line against Epic Games. The decision to allow Epic Games to join the developer program paves the way for the launch of the Epic Games App Store on iPhone in Europe. And so… to the return of Fortnite on the iPhone.
