Epic Accuses Apple of Blocking Fortnite's U.S. App Store Return; Sweeney Tweets Cook

Epic's ongoing battle with Apple over Fortnite's availability on iOS devices has escalated once again. Epic Games has accused Apple of blocking their latest Fortnite submission, preventing the game from being released on the U.S. App Store.

Earlier this month, Epic's CEO Tim Sweeney announced that Fortnite would soon return to the U.S. iOS App Store following a significant court ruling. On April 30, a U.S. Federal District Court in California ruled that Apple had willfully violated a court order in the Epic Games v. Apple case, which mandated that Apple allow developers to offer alternative payment methods outside of their apps.

Epic's Tim Sweeney remains steadfast in his mission to challenge Apple and Google's app store practices, vowing to continue the fight for as long as necessary. Photo by SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg. In January, IGN reported that Sweeney had invested billions in this legal battle, viewing it as a crucial long-term investment for Epic and Fortnite's future.

Sweeney's efforts to bring Fortnite back to iOS and Android devices without paying the standard 30% store fees are well-known. Epic prefers to distribute Fortnite through its own Epic Games Store, bypassing Apple and Google's fees. This conflict led to Fortnite's removal from iOS in 2020.

Despite Sweeney's recent tweet suggesting Fortnite's imminent return to iOS, the game remains unavailable. Epic has now released a statement to IGN, explaining the situation:

"Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it."

“Hi Tim. How about if you let our mutual customers access Fortnite? Just a thought.”

Hi Tim. How about if you let our mutual customers access Fortnite? Just a thought.

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) May 15, 2025

Following the court's ruling, Apple was referred to federal prosecutors for violating the U.S. court order. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers emphasized, "Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated. This is an injunction, not a negotiation. There are no do-overs once a party willfully disregards a court order."

Judge Rogers referred Apple and its vice president of finance, Alex Roman, to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation due to misleading testimony about Apple's compliance with her injunction. In response, Apple stated, "we strongly disagree with the decision. We will comply with the court’s order and we will appeal." Last week, Apple requested that the U.S. appeals court pause the ruling in the Epic Games case.