Epic Games, Inc. will relaunch the game "Fortnite," which withdrew from Apple's App Store amid a dispute over payment fees with Apple, on app stores worldwide.
Epic Games, Inc. said on the 20th, "If Apple discloses its actual expense structure, we are confident that governments around the world will not allow Apple's unfair fees as they are," and stated accordingly.
A U.S. court has not yet ordered Apple to change its fee structure. However, Epic Games, Inc. appears to have preemptively relaunched Fortnite, judging that the likelihood of a favorable outcome has increased in future rulings.
In 2020, Epic Games, Inc. filed a lawsuit, saying Apple's 30% in-app payment fee rate was excessive. The following year, the court ruled to the effect of "allow payment outside the app in addition to in-app payment," and that was finalized in Jan. 2024.
Afterward, Apple allowed external payments, but it imposed a 27% fee on external payments as well, which is not much different from the existing in-app payments, leading to renewed litigation with Epic Games, Inc.
Epic Games, Inc. said, "We are asking the court to stop Apple's illegal conduct and issue an order that will benefit all app developers and iOS users."
Fortnite can now be played again on iPhone and iPad, and to mark its return, it is offering users special items for free.
However, it has not yet been relaunched on the Australian App Store. Epic Games, Inc. argued, "An Australian court found several of Apple's developer terms illegal, yet Apple is still enforcing those terms."