Fortnite down on iOS — live updates on the Epic game

If you were hoping to play Fortnite on your iPhone anytime soon, you can't. Even in regions where Fortnite was available, the game is now down for all iOS users across the world. Why? According to Epic Games, it's all thanks to Apple blocking Fortnite from the App Store in the U.S.

This follows Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney's posts, which seemingly expressed frustration at the fact that Fortnite had been left in limbo following a review submission last Friday.

Normally, the review process takes around 24 hours, but in this instance, it has been so long with no updates that Epic had to pull the app and resubmit a new version due to an impending Fortnite content update.

Downloads for the European version of the app seem to be disabled as well.

Fortnite down on iOS — live updates

2025-05-16T12:43:15.730Z

Apple and Fortnite's history

Fortnite is why Apple ended up with this court ruling in the first place. Unhappy with the way Apple was handling App Store transactions, specifically the part where it takes a 30% cut of all sales, Fortnite tried to get around everything by linking off the app and letting users pay for V-Bucks on Epic's own storefront.

This led to Fortnite being pulled from Apple's App Store and Google Play. While sideloading on Android meant this wasn't such a big deal, iPhone users were essentially cut off from the game — which meant Epic took the matter to court.

Apple was handed an injunction over off-app purchases back in 2021, but was found in contempt of that order earlier this year.

The judge didn't take kindly to Apple putting obstacles in the way of developers trying to link to other payment options, or the fact that it still tried to take a hefty commission from those transactions.

2025-05-16T12:42:06.788Z

It's not just the US

Epic and Apple also ended up in another spat last year, over the state of third-party app stores in the EU. After the EU passed the Digital Markets Act, which forced platform developers to allow third-party stores, Epic announced it would take advantage of the legislation to bring Fortnite back to European iPhones.

Until Apple banned Epic's developer account, declaring that the developer was “verifiably untrustworthy” and claimed the company wouldn't comply with the rules of Apple's developer licensing agreement. This meant the company was prevented from developing the Epic Games Store on iOS.

Epic accused Apple of breaking the law and not "allowing true competition on iOS devices." Apple's decision was reversed a couple of days later. But it suggested that, despite the legal changes, there was still plenty of bad blood between the two companies.

2025-05-16T12:33:35.363Z

What happens to Fortnite on iPhone?

If what Epic Games says is true, then the ball may be in Apple's court. If the company is specifically blocking Fortnite updates on iOS worldwide, then the only way around this situation is for Apple to relent.

How quickly that might happen, if it does at all, isn't clear. Apple may backtrack, similar to how it did after banning Epic Games' EU developer account, but it may also stand firm. In the latter case, the only way things will change is to go through the courts and lawyers.

Since Apple's legal feud with Epic has been going on for almost 5 years now, there's no telling how long that might take.