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.
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.
Today, the European Commission said that iPads will also need to comply with the Digital Markets Act 🙌 We’re moving full steam ahead to bring Fortnite and the @EpicGames Store to iPhones in the EU soon and iPads this year! 🎉 https://t.co/MHh6EGVinC — Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) April 29, 2024
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.
