Fortnite Returns to the iPhone

Five years after Apple removed Fortnite from its App Store, the popular Epic Games battle royale is back. All it took was an antitrust trial, Apple lying in court, an incensed judge, one more round of nonsense from the Big Tech bully, and a second legal order to get it to finally do the right thing.

“Fortnite is back!” the game’s App Store listing reads. “Be the last player standing in Battle Royale, OG, and Zero Build, carry your squad to victory in fast-paced Reload, build your own adventures in LEGO Fortnite, or headline a concert in Fortnite Festival — it’s all here. Play thousands of free creator-made islands with your friends, including tycoons, deathruns, zombie survival, and more.”

As you may recall, Apple supposedly won its case against Epic Games otherwise, though I saw things quite differently from most. And then it proceeded to ignore U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ court order requiring it to allow Epic Games to communicate with its own customers and offer alternative payment methods for years, leading to a set of hearings. The judge determined that Apple willfully ignored her order and lied on the stand, leading to an incredible set of changes to how the company’s App Store operates. Which Apple then ignored as well: Epic Games submitted Fortnite to the App Store, Apple blocked the submission, and Epic Games complained again to the judge.

Apple lied again, pretending that it had done nothing wrong. But the Judge is having none of this nonsense.

“Apple is fully capable of resolving this issue without further briefing or hearing,” she wrote in a legal order. “If this Court’s intervention is required, the Apple official who is responsible for ensuring compliance shall personally appear at the hearing on May 27. Any opposition brief shall be fully filed by May 21, and shall identify by name the Apple official, referenced above, who shall be fully prepared to answer any question on this topic.”

That did it. Finally.

Without comment, Apple quietly reinstated Fortnite in its App Store today, one day after the Judge’s new filing. Gamers can choose to pay for in-app purchases using Apple’s fee-heavy system, or they can use Epic Rewards and save 20 percent every time.