Fortnite Is Coming Back To Apple's iPhones, Including Alternative App Stores, But There's A Catch

Epic Games has announced that its flagship game, Fortnite, will soon be available for download on Apple Inc.’s AAPL iPhones and iPads in the EU. However, the company has also decided to pull out its game from Samsung Electronics’s SSNLF Galaxy Store.

What Happened: On Thursday, the Fortnite maker announced this latest development adding that the company plans to expand the availability of its mobile games, including Fortnite, to other app stores.

“We will be ending distribution partnerships with mobile stores that serve as rent collectors without competing robustly and serving all developers fairly, even if those stores offer us a special deal for our own games,” Epic said in a press release.

Epic also announced that its mobile games will be accessible on AltStore, a third-party store that permits side-loading, on iOS in the EU. The company also intends to extend support to at least two other third-party stores.

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Meanwhile, the company’s move to exit the Samsung Galaxy Store comes as a protest against the smartphone maker’s decision to prevent side-loading by default on Android devices.

“In sad news, we are today announcing that Fortnite and our other games will be leaving the Samsung Galaxy Store in protest of Samsung’s anticompetitive decision to block side-loading by default on Samsung Android devices,” Epic stated.

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Why It Matters: The latest development comes amid the company’s ongoing legal battle with Apple. The gaming company has been challenging the high commissions on in-app purchases and the restriction on users to download apps only through the App Store.

Earlier in July, Apple had approved Epic Games’ marketplace app for iPhones and iPads in Europe. This came after Epic accused the company of obstructing its efforts to launch a game store on Apple devices.

The Epic Games Store will be launched globally on Android and iOS in the EU. The timeline for this, however, remains unspecified. Last month, Epic announced that the company’s marketplace and Fortnite will be accessible on iOS in Japan by late 2025.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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