Epic Games to Bring Fortnite to iPad in EU After iPadOS 'Gatekeeper' Decision

With Apple soon to be required to bring the same EU changes that it made on the iPhone to the iPad, Epic Games today confirmed that it will release Fortnite for the ‌iPad‌ in the future.

fortnite apple featured
‌Epic Games‌ is already working to release an ‌iPhone‌ version of Fortnite in the EU, with the game set to be available from the forthcoming ‌Epic Games‌ Store, an alternative app marketplace. The ‌iPhone‌ version of Fortnite is coming "soon," and an ‌iPad‌ version will follow "this year."

The European Commission said this morning that iPadOS, the operating system designed to run on the ‌iPad‌, is considered a digital gatekeeper under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA). As a result, Apple has six months to comply with the requirements set by the DMA, and we've already seen those requirements implemented on ‌iPhone‌.


As of iOS 17.4, ‌iPhone‌ users in the European Union can download apps from alternative app marketplaces rather than the App Store, and starting in iOS 17.5, apps are available directly from developer websites. Right now, only ‌iPhone‌ apps can be downloaded outside of the ‌App Store‌, but Apple will need to expand this functionality to the ‌iPad‌ as well.

Within six months, EU users will be able to download ‌iPad‌ apps from alternative app marketplaces and from websites. As with the ‌iPhone‌ updates, the upcoming changes are limited to the European Union, and the ‌iPad‌ app ecosystem will function as is in the rest of the world.

Popular Stories

iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
duolingo ad live activity

Duolingo Used iPhone's Dynamic Island to Display Ads, Violating Apple Design Guidelines

Friday January 2, 2026 1:36 pm PST by
Language learning app Duolingo has apparently been using the iPhone's Live Activity feature to display ads on the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island, which violates Apple's design guidelines. According to multiple reports on Reddit, the Duolingo app has been displaying an ad for a "Super offer," which is Duolingo's paid subscription option. Apple's guidelines for Live Activity state that...
Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature Pink

Apple's 2026 Low-Cost A18 Pro MacBook: What We Know So Far

Friday January 2, 2026 4:33 pm PST by
Apple is planning to release a low-cost MacBook in 2026, which will apparently compete with more affordable Chromebooks and Windows PCs. Apple's most affordable Mac right now is the $999 MacBook Air, and the upcoming low-cost MacBook is expected to be cheaper. Here's what we know about the low-cost MacBook so far. Size Rumors suggest the low-cost MacBook will have a display that's around 13 ...
govee floor lamp

CES 2026: Govee Announces New Matter-Connected Ceiling and Floor Lights

Sunday January 4, 2026 5:00 am PST by
Govee today introduced three new HomeKit-compatible lighting products, including the Govee Floor Lamp 3, the Govee Ceiling Light Ultra, and the Govee Sky Ceiling Light. The Govee Floor Lamp 3 is the successor to the Floor Lamp 2, and it offers Matter integration with the option to connect to HomeKit. The Floor Lamp 3 offers an upgraded LuminBlend+ lighting system that can reproduce 281...
Belkin 25W Battery magnetic

CES 2026: Belkin Announces Magnetic Ring Power Bank, Modular Dock, and More

Sunday January 4, 2026 3:02 pm PST by
Belkin today announced a range of new charging and connectivity accessories at CES 2026, expanding its portfolio of products aimed at Apple device users. UltraCharge Pro Power Bank 10K with Magnetic Ring The lineup includes new Qi2 and Qi2.2 wireless chargers, magnetic power banks, a high-capacity laptop battery, and USB-C productivity accessories, with an emphasis on higher charging...
airpods pro 3 glitter

AirPods New Year's Deals Include Up to $99 Off AirPods Max, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Sunday January 4, 2026 8:04 am PST by
Now that the calendar has flipped over into January, steep discounts on popular Apple products have become more rare after the holidays. However, if you didn't get a new pair of AirPods recently and are looking for a model on sale, Amazon does have a few solid second-best prices this week. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a...
Low Cost MacBook Feature A18 Pro

Low-Price 12.9-Inch MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Reportedly Launching Early This Year

Friday January 2, 2026 9:08 am PST by
Apple plans to introduce a 12.9-inch MacBook in spring 2026, according to TrendForce. In a press release this week, the Taiwanese research firm said this MacBook will be aimed at the entry-level to mid-range market, with "competitive pricing." TrendForce did not share any further details about this MacBook, but the information that it shared lines up with several rumors about a more...
Clicks Communicator Feature

'Clicks Communicator' Unveiled — Will You Carry This With Your iPhone?

Friday January 2, 2026 6:35 am PST by
The company behind the BlackBerry-like Clicks Keyboard accessory for the iPhone today unveiled a new Android 16 smartphone called the Clicks Communicator. The purpose-built device is designed to be used as a second phone alongside your iPhone, with the intended focus being communication over content consumption. It runs a custom Android launcher that offers a curated selection of messaging...

Top Rated Comments

Think|Different Avatar
22 months ago
Any and all Epic 'wins' only illicit this from me these days. They are all for themselves – not the consumer.

Attachment Image
Score: 57 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JPack Avatar
22 months ago
Like it or not, it’s a win for consumers against gatekeepers like Apple. Epic Games may have pursued this for self serving reasons, but that doesn’t diminish the practical value of the DMA nor the upcoming DOJ antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. against Apple.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
now i see it Avatar
22 months ago
Hope nobody downloads it - out of spite
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
22 months ago
Congratulations EU friends. You now get the CHOICE to put what software you want on favorite tech devices you own... this being but one of them... while the rest of us have "Daddy" deciding for us what can and can't be installed on the very same tech we've purchased. Apparently to many of us, Father knows best... and whatever Father dictates is the only way it should be.

Enjoy your greater freedom... much like the rest of us have and have had with our Macs for many years now... leading to no apocalypse, no disaster, no account draining by evil crime syndicates, we're not swimming in viruses, no locusts/frogs/famine, etc... just as you are experiencing after almost 2 months of these laws taking effect... and as it will likely be months and then years from now too.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IceCool Avatar
22 months ago
lol to the people that think the EU is giving users a “choice” ???
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
uacd Avatar
22 months ago

Epic Games Store
That’s all we need to know. Another day to forget that Fortnite exists. What’s next, they will ask you to install antivirus for iPhone in order to be able to launch the game? Really, who cares about their store, it ain’t “epic” at all.

The only decent online games store I have ever seen was GOG. No bloatware, no fake deals and ads, no bs approach
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)