Epic’s CEO Tim Sweeney, said that Apple has not yet approved the addition of Fortnite to the iOS app store, and suggested that it obstructs the process.
The game was submitted to Apple for examination on May 9, but on May 14, Sweeney told subscribers on X that Apple had still not approved the release of the game.
After a follower asked Sweeney where the match was, he replied: “Not yet Apple news. They have had it since last Friday.”
When another follower asked if Epic had contacted Apple to discover what was going on, he replied: “We sent an email yesterday but we did not hear.”
Apple official developer site says that “on average, 90% of the submissions are examined in less than 24 hours”.
Sweeney then noted that, because Fortnite regularly updates its content and must include the same version in all formats to ensure the compatibility of the multiplate platform, the Fortnite version subject to Apple had to be obsolete before May 16, which means from May 14 to five days after the submission of the game – Epic had to submit it with the new content included.
“We must publish a weekly update of Fortnite with new content this Friday, and all platforms must update simultaneously,” he told a user. “So we pulled the previous version of Fortnite submitted to the Apple App Review last Friday, and we submitted a new version for exam.”
When asked for another disciple why Epic did not plan this possibility, Sweeney explained that platform holders should support the release of regular applications and updates in the continuous development of live service games, and that if a business like Apple “clogs” the process, it hinders the capacity of the game to work.
“Our liberation planning is based on platforms supporting applicants like us who publish applications,” he said. “There is no way that a rapidly evolving multiplatform game as Fortnite can work if platforms use their power or their processes to obstruct.”
Update: We must publish a weekly update of Fortnite with new content this Friday, and all platforms must update simultaneously. So we pulled the previous version of Fortnite submitted to Apple App Review last Friday, and we submitted a new version for examination.
– Tim Sweeney (@timsweeneyepic) May 14, 2025
Apple’s apparent delay in Fortnite’s approval for the iOS version is the last chapter of the current quarrel between Epic and Apple.
Apple had already been prosecuted by EPIC in 2020 for having reduced all integrated purchases by 30% while prohibiting all other ways of making payments outside the Apple ecosystem.
Epic tried to bypass Apple platform fees later in 2020 by adding a new direct payment option to Fortnite, but it led Apple to remove the game from the App Store and end the EPIC developer account. Apple was then ordered in 2021 to allow iOS developers to create a link to external payment options in their applications.
Apple began to allow developers to offer external payment options, but also forced a 27% commission on purchases made via web links in applications, and also showed prompts that seemed to dissuade users from using web links.
Earlier this month, an American judge ordered Apple to stop forcing the commission by 27% and using its prompts, declaring that the apple had violated an injunction of 2021 and that vice-president Alex Roman had “pure and simple lying under oath”, which means that society could now face accusations of criminal contempt.
After the decision, Epic said that if Apple agreed to apply the decision on a global scale, it would abandon all the current and future disputes, including its struggle to bring its own store back to iOS, and would bring Fortnite to the platform in May.
Epic has also introduced a change in its EPIC award plan, which generally allows players to win 5% in awards each time they make a purchase on the Epic game store. In a permanent change, players who make purchases for Fortnite, Rocket League and Fall Guys will now obtain 20% of awards instead, a move apparently made to convince players to buy integrated purchases via Epic instead of Apple when (or if) Fortnite finally returns to iOS.
