If you deleted Fortnite or Infinity Blade off your iPhone or iPad then you won’t be getting it back as Apple has officially terminated the Epic Games account on the App Store due to an ongoing legal battle with the game studio over in-app payments in the Battle Royale game.
This is the latest development in the Epic-Apple conflict that started earlier this month when the developer introduced direct payment support in Fortnite, aiming to bypass Apple’s 30 per cent cut on App Store payments.
This prompted Apple to remove Fortnite from the App Store, with Epic launching an immediate lawsuit and a publicity campaign accusing Apple of breaching its market power.
Apple also said that Epic generated support problems by steering dissatisfied users to AppleCare.
In a statement, Apple confirmed its decision. They said, “We are disappointed that we have had to terminate the Epic Games account on the App Store. We have worked with the team at Epic Games for many years on their launches and releases.”
“The court recommended that Epic comply with the App Store guidelines while their case moves forward, guidelines they’ve followed for the past decade until they created this situation. Epic has refused. Instead they repeatedly submit Fortnite updates designed to violate the guidelines of the App Store. This is not fair to all other developers on the App Store and is putting customers in the middle of their fight.”
“We hope that we can work together again in the future, but unfortunately that is not possible today.”
Users who previously downloaded Fortnite to iOS and Mac will still be able to play the game but this decision from Apple threatens availability for new players and those upgrading to new devices.