Epic Games' promise to bring Fortnite back to iOS in the EU has moved a step closer to fruition.
While the developer of the popular title and the Unreal Engine had previously stated via X (formerly Twitter) in January that "Fortnite will return to iOS in Europe in 2024", Apple has now reinstated the company's iOS developer account in the European Union.
Despite Epic's promise to return the battle royale to Apple platforms last month, there was no guarantee it would be granted an account. According to a new Epic Games blog post, that has happened.
"We've received our Apple Developer Account and will start developing the Epic Games Store on iOS soon thanks to the new Digital Markets Act," the post reads.
"We plan to launch in 2024. Epic Games Sweden AB will operate the mobile Epic Games Store and Fortnite in Europe, with the Store team leading development."
According to the post, Epic Games Sweden comprises three studios and over 60 employees.
The state of play for Fortnite on iOS
The door has been opened for this thanks to the EU's Digital Markets Act, which goes into effect on March 7 but is already causing big changes.
Aside from shifts in the way iOS web apps work, it's opening the doors to developers building their own app stores to circumnavigate Apple's "walled garden" policies which have stood firm since the iPhone's App Store arrived.
It's those policies (and Google's similar ones) that Fortnite developer Epic Games has said are "anticompetitive", leading to a lengthy legal battle. While Apple "won" most of the counts of the lawsuit (the judge found in Apple's favor on nine out of ten counts), both companies appealed only to see those appeals quashed by California's Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The outcome is that Apple is likely to receive less money from developers since it can no longer stop them from passing users onto third-party payment solutions, while Epic can leverage the Digital Markets Act to reestablish Fortnite on iOS — but only in Europe for now.
