Epic Claims Apple Bars Fortnite from U.S. App Store, Sweeney Tweets Cook

The ongoing saga between Epic Games and Apple regarding Fortnite on iOS devices has escalated once again. Epic Games has accused Apple of blocking its Fortnite submission, preventing the game from being released to the U.S. App Store. This development comes after Epic's CEO, Tim Sweeney, had 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 wilfully violated a court order in the Epic Games v. Apple case. The order required Apple to allow developers to provide alternative payment methods outside their apps. This ruling was a pivotal moment in the long-standing dispute between the two tech giants.

In January, IGN reported that Sweeney had invested billions of dollars in the battle against Apple and Google over their app store policies. Sweeney considers this a strategic investment in the future of Epic and Fortnite, believing that Epic can sustain this fight for decades if necessary.

The core of the conflict lies in Epic's refusal to pay the standard 30% store fees on mobile game revenue. Epic aims to distribute Fortnite through its own Epic Games Store on mobile devices, bypassing the fees imposed by Apple and Google. This disagreement led to Fortnite being removed from iOS devices back in 2020.

Despite Sweeney's announcement that Fortnite would return to iOS, the game remains unavailable. Epic recently issued a statement to IGN, revealing that Apple has blocked their Fortnite submission, preventing its release not only in the U.S. App Store but also through the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. This has forced Fortnite to go offline worldwide on iOS until Apple lifts the block.

The situation has dire financial implications for Epic, which has already lost billions in revenue since Fortnite was removed from iPhones. In a direct appeal to Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, Sweeney tweeted, "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 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."

The judge also referred Apple and one of its executives, Alex Roman, vice president of finance, to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation due to misleading testimony about Apple's compliance efforts. 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 the U.S. appeals court to pause the ruling in the Epic Games case.