The years-long dispute between Apple and Epic Games has brought a new crisis. With Apple not approving Epic Games’s App Store application for Fortnite, the game has gone completely offline on iOS devices.

Apple has officially removed Fortnite

Epic Games announced on social media platform X that the game could not be published on either the US App Store or the Epic Games Store in the European Union due to Apple’s blocking. The statement also included the following statements: “Fortnite will be offline on iOS worldwide until Apple removes the blocking.”

This development came immediately after the ongoing legal process between the parties. The tension that began with the antitrust lawsuit filed by Epic Games against Apple in 2020 deepened further with the removal of Fortnite from the App Store and the suspension of Epic’s developer account.

Epic management, on the other hand, accused Apple of taking a 30 percent commission from in-app purchases and depriving users of alternative payment methods. The California Federal Court found last month that Apple had intentionally violated the previous ruling. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers stated that Apple had not acted in accordance with the 2021 ruling.

Apple, on the other hand, said it did not agree with the court’s decision and decided to appeal. The company said in a statement, “We absolutely disagree with this decision. We will comply with the court’s decisions, but we will appeal.”

Following this court decision, Fortnite was expected to return to the App Store. However, according to Epic Games’ statement, the application was not evaluated by Apple. This situation also made the planned update of the game uncertain.