Fortnite is one of the most popular video games ever made, but it's been absent from the iPhone for nearly four years. That's because of the long-running legal battle between Apple and Epic Games over Apple's payment demands.
Now, thanks to EU laws that allow developers to launch third-party app stores on iOS, Epic Games has relaunched its popular battle royale game on Apple devices. Unfortunately, since these laws only exist in the EU, people outside the region can't download and play it.
Fortnite fans can download the game through two alternative app stores: the Epic Games Store and AltStore PAL. The gameplay experience is the same in both cases; it's just a matter of where you want to download the game.
“We are really excited and grateful for the European DMA law,” Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said during a press briefing. “Fortnite is finally coming back to iOS in Europe.”
Oddly enough, while the company's FAQ states that you can run the game on iOS 17.4 or later, the download link states: “To install the Epic Games Store on your iPhone, update to iOS 17.6 or later.” This shouldn't be a problem for most users, as it's a good idea to keep your iPhone up to date anyway. But if you haven't updated your phone, you'll need to do so if you want to play Fortnite.
In addition to the release of Fortnite and its app store on iOS, the company also launched the Epic Games Store for Android devices today. This isn't just limited to the European Union, so if you want to check out the store on Android, you can do so anywhere.
The Epic Games Store currently offers three first-party games. Epic Games is already in talks with third-party mobile developers to bring more games to its App Store.