Epic Games

By MacRumors Staff on October 23, 2025

Epic Games is the software company behind the massively popular game Fortnite, as well as creator of the Unreal Engine game engine that is used by numerous other game developers.

Epic became a major focus of the Apple news scene in mid-2020 when the company deployed a direct payment option for Fortnite's in-game currency, in violation of App Store and Google Play rules.

The situation escalated, with Apple quickly pulling Fortnite from the App Store and terminating Epic's developer account. Lawsuits were filed on both sides, and the situation continues to play out with Fortnite still missing from the App Store.

Read more in our timeline of events surrounding the ongoing dispute.

Epic Games Articles

Apple and Epic Return to Court as Judges Question Prior Rulings

Thursday October 23, 2025 8:32 am PDT by Hartley Charlton

Apple returned to court this week to argue that a federal judge exceeded their authority when they held the company in contempt and barred it from collecting any commission on external in-app transactions, Bloomberg reports. Apple told the appeals court that a U.S. District Judge went further than their 2021 order allowed when they banned Apple from taking any commission on purchases made...

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Apple Accuses Epic Games of Wanting a 'Free Ride'

Friday October 17, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Apple and Epic Games are facing off in Australia among other countries, and this week, Apple accused ‌Epic Games‌ of seeking a "free ride" on its platform. In a statement to MacRumors, Apple said that it will continue to fight for a ruling that respects its intellectual property. "Epic is now asking to free ride on Apple's platform and dismantle every safeguard we've put in place to protect...

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Epic: Apple's Updated App Marketplace Install Process Proves 'Scare Screens' Deterred Users

Wednesday October 1, 2025 2:48 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Epic Games has claimed that Apple's revised installation process for third-party app marketplaces in the EU demonstrates that the company was deliberately undermining competition through "deceptive design." In a blog post published Wednesday, the Fortnite developer revealed that user drop-offs during Epic Games Store installations plummeted from 65% to 25% after Apple streamlined the process ...

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Apple Says App Store Changes Go Too Far in New Epic Games Appeal Filing

Friday August 29, 2025 5:00 pm PDT by Juli Clover

The court order that required Apple to collect no fees from developers who link to purchases outside of the App Store is unconstitutional, Apple said today in a reply brief directed at Epic Games and filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Apple argues that it has been stripped of its rights to be compensated for its intellectual property in a ruling that sets a dangerous precedent for all ...

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Fortnite Coming Back to iPhone in Australia After Epic's Legal Victory

Tuesday August 12, 2025 5:42 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Epic Games has announced that Fortnite will return to iOS in Australia after Apple and Google were found to have broken competition law by banning ‌Epic Games‌ from their app stores. Federal judge Jonathan Beach found that both companies had broken the law by misusing their market power in the way they run their app stores. Apple was ruled to have engaged in conduct that prevents direct...

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Epic Games Wins 'Total Victory' in Google Play Store Dispute

Thursday July 31, 2025 4:26 pm PDT by Juli Clover

While Apple largely won the lawsuit that Epic Games levied against it back in 2020, Google hasn't been as lucky. Google today failed to win an appeal in the ongoing ‌Epic Games‌ v. Google case, handing another victory to Epic. As noted by Reuters, a federal appeals court rejected Google's claim that the original court overseeing the antitrust case had made legal errors when finding in favor...

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Fortnite's Return to iOS in the UK Uncertain as Epic Games Criticizes 'Weak' Apple Regulations

Wednesday July 23, 2025 4:33 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Epic Games today criticized the focus of measures that the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is considering implementing against Apple and Google, claiming that it might not be able to bring Fortnite back to the iOS App Store in the UK. The CMA said that it will designate Apple and Google with "strategic market status" under new digital competition laws, giving the CMA the ability...

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Court Rejects Apple's Emergency Motion to Pause App Store Rule Changes

Wednesday June 4, 2025 3:20 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Apple will not be able to walk back the anti-steering App Store changes it was ordered to implement in May while the legal process plays out, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said today. That means Epic Games, Spotify, Patreon, and others will be able to continue to direct customers to web purchase options that are available outside of the App Store, and Apple won't be able to...

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Fortnite Takes Top Spot on App Store Charts

Wednesday May 21, 2025 3:53 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Just hours after Fortnite returned to the U.S. App Store, the game made it to the top of the App Store charts. As of right now, Fortnite is the number one free game. Apple allowed Fortnite back on the U.S. ‌App Store‌ last night, ending a five year ban on the game that started when the legal battle between Apple and Epic Games kicked off. ‌Epic Games‌' original developer account continues to ...

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Fortnite Returns to U.S. App Store

Tuesday May 20, 2025 3:19 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Popular game Fortnite is once again available in the U.S. App Store, as Apple has finally approved Epic Games' app submission. This is the first time that Fortnite has been on the iOS ‌App Store‌ since 2020. Apple initially did not plan to allow Fortnite back in the ‌App Store‌, but the judge overseeing the ongoing legal battle between the two companies yesterday suggested that Apple and ‌Ep...

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Apple Might Be Forced to Bring Fortnite Back to U.S. App Store

Monday May 19, 2025 1:55 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Epic Games is continuing its campaign to get Fortnite back on the iPhone in the U.S., and it's looking like Apple might have to fold. Last week, Apple refused to allow Fortnite in the U.S. App Store and ignored ‌Epic Games‌' submission, and because ‌Epic Games‌ tied the update to Fortnite in the EU, Fortnite has been offline on iOS devices worldwide since Friday. With Apple blocking Fortnite ...

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Epic Games Asks Judge to Force Apple to Approve Fortnite for US App Store

Monday May 19, 2025 3:13 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Epic Games on Friday filed a court motion asking District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to order Apple to approve Fortnite for the US App Store, in another escalation of the ongoing legal battle between the two companies. In the filing, Epic claims Apple is in contempt of the judge's April order that restricted Apple from rejecting apps over their use of outside payment links. Epic argues...

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Apple Says Fortnite for iOS Isn't Blocked Worldwide, Just the U.S.

Friday May 16, 2025 9:58 am PDT by Juli Clover

Apple today clarified that it has not blocked Epic Games from updating the iOS Fortnite app in the European Union, but it is not planning to allow ‌Epic Games‌ to offer Fortnite in the United States App Store at the current time. In a statement to Bloomberg, Apple said that ‌Epic Games‌ tied its U.S. ‌App Store‌ submission to the update that was also being submitted to the ‌Epic Games‌ Store ...

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Epic: Fortnite Offline Worldwide 'Until Apple Unblocks It'

Friday May 16, 2025 2:50 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Epic Games said today that Apple has blocked its attempt to bring Fortnite back to iOS devices, leaving the popular battle royale game unavailable on iPhones and iPads worldwide. "Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union," Epic stated via its Fortnite account on X (Twitter). "Now, sadly,...

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Epic Resubmits Fortnite to U.S. App Store After Not Hearing From Apple for 120+ Hours

Wednesday May 14, 2025 1:01 pm PDT by Juli Clover

On Friday, Epic Games submitted Fortnite to the U.S. App Store, and since then, we've been waiting to see if Apple would approve the game and allow it back on the iPhone and the iPad. There's been no word from Apple so far, but ‌Epic Games‌ opted to pull its first App Store review request, and has now resubmitted Fortnite. Fortnite leaker Shiina shared the news, with the information reposted ...

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Epic Games Submits Fortnite to U.S. App Store

Friday May 9, 2025 9:57 am PDT by Juli Clover

As promised, Epic Games today submitted Fortnite to the U.S. App Store, and if approved by Apple, it will mark the first time that the Fortnite app has been available in the United States since 2020. Fortnite will include options to purchase in-app currency from the web rather than through in-app purchase, which is what got the game banned to begin with. This time, though, Apple has been...

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Epic Games Has Paid Over $100 Million in Legal Fees to Fight Apple's App Store Rules

Tuesday May 6, 2025 4:07 pm PDT by Juli Clover

It has cost Epic Games more than $100 million to challenge Apple's App Store rules in the ongoing Apple vs. ‌Epic Games‌ legal battle, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said today in an interview with Business Insider. Sweeney said that ‌Epic Games‌ has paid "legal bills" in excess of $100 million, but that the dispute has cost the company a lot more. But if you look at lost revenue, that's another...

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Apple Banned Epic Games' Developer Account, So How Is Fortnite Coming Back to the U.S. App Store?

Monday May 5, 2025 1:45 pm PDT by Juli Clover

In the early days of the Apple vs. Epic Games legal battle, Apple banned the Epic Games developer account and all of Epic's titles, like Fortnite, disappeared from the App Store. ‌Epic Games‌' U.S. developer account has been banned for almost five years now, so when Epic said last week that it would bring Fortnite back to the ‌App Store‌ in the U.S., it wasn't clear how that would work. ‌Epic...

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iOS App Store General Feature Desaturated

Apple Appeals Court-Mandated App Store Payment Rule Changes

Monday May 5, 2025 11:17 am PDT by Juli Clover

As promised, Apple is appealing the contempt of court decision it was hit with last week in its ongoing legal fight with Epic Games. Apple today filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. District Court in Northern California, in the hopes that the Cupertino company might be able to walk back changes that have required it to allow developers to add links to external payment methods to apps. Last ...

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iOS App Store General Feature Sqaure Complement

Apple Updates U.S. App Review Guidelines Following Epic Games Ruling

Thursday May 1, 2025 8:08 pm PDT by Eric Slivka

In the wake of yesterday's court ruling in the dispute between Apple and Epic Games over Apple's policies restricting developers' ability to inform users about alternatives to making purchases through Apple's in-app purchasing system, Apple has updated its App Review Guidelines to comply with the ruling. Apple summarized the changes in an email to developers today:3.1.1: Apps on the United...

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