Apple rejects Epic's request to bring Fortnite back to the App Store

Fornite on iOS
Fornite on iOS (Image credit: Epic Games)

What you need to know

  • Fortnite is not being admitted back to the App Store.
  • Epic recently requested for its developer account to be reinstated.
  • Apple says it won't do so "until the district court's judgement becomes final and unappealable."

In a move that makes sense because we might as well drag this saga well into 2022, Apple has rejected Epic Games' request to return Fortnite to the App Store.

In a series of tweets, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney revealed that, after requesting for Apple to give the company back its access to its developer account, that Apple had declined.

Sweeney shared the letter that he sent to Apple to attempt to get the Epic developer account reinstated. While the letter says the company would bring Fortnite back to the Mac immediately, it did clarify that its fate on iOS still depends on how Apple implements the in-app purchase changes as directed by the court.

In response, Apple says that it is not reinstating Epic's developer "until the district court's judgement becomes final and unappealable."

It's currently unclear where things go from here. While this move may be in bad taste by Apple depending on who you ask, it's not clear if this could be fought by Epic. In court. Again.

Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.