Is Fortnite back on iPhone?

Contents

What is the Epic Games and Apple legal feud?
- Key timeline
Alternative ways of playing Fortnite on iPhone
- 1) Xbox Cloud Gaming (Free)
- 2) Amazon Luna (Free with Amazon Prime)

The Fortnite on iPhone story has been complicated for years. Ever since the ongoing legal feud between Apple and Epic Games kicked off back in 2020, iOS users around the world have been struggling to play Fortnite. The game was removed from the App Store for violating Apple's policies. Now, it finally looks like the dust is starting to settle. Fortnite is officially back on iPhones in the EU region for now. Other regions still don't have a confirmed date of return, but the release is closer than ever.

On that note, here’s when we can expect the game to return on iPhone globally, and the alternative ways to play it for now.

What is the Epic Games and Apple legal feud?

Master the game with our Fortnite Interactive Map v33.00 here!

The fight between Epic Games and Apple began in August 2020 when Epic introduced its in-app payment system in Fortnite to bypass Apple's 30% cut. Apple responded by removing the game from the App Store, triggering a lawsuit that stretched over several years.

Expand Tweet

Key timeline

While so many events happened between 2020 to 2025, here are some of the key highlights that will give you a good idea about the whole situation:

August 2020: Apple removes Fortnite from the App Store as Epic Games introduced its own payment system to avoid fees. Epic Games files a lawsuit almost immediately.
2020 - Present: Players who didn’t uninstall the game could continue playing up to Chapter 2, Season 3.
2021 - 2023: Legal battle continues, with appeals on both sides.
January 2024: The US Supreme Court declines to hear appeals from both sides.
March 2024: Apple permits third-party stores on iOS in the EU to comply with the Digital Markets Act.
August 2024: Fortnite officially returns on iPhone only in the EU via the Epic Games Store. The legal battle for the game's return to the US market resurfaces.
April 2025: Apple is found in willful violation of the injunction, citing the company's fee on external purchases as non-compliant.
May 2025: Apple appeals the contempt ruling, seeking to pause the changes to its App Store policies.

Thus, despite getting a green light in April 2025 to officially re-release the game on the Epic Games Store, it is taking longer than expected due to legal complications. However, the CEO of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney, has assured that the game will be released sometime in May 2025 for the US player base. Epic Games also aims to launch the game worldwide for all iOS users, but exact dates have not been confirmed.

Alternative ways to play Fortnite on iPhone

While the app isn’t back on the App Store globally yet, there are free and legal ways to play Fortnite on iPhone in various countries:

1) Xbox Cloud Gaming (Free)

Xbox Cloud Gaming lets you play games directly through your browser on an iPhone without downloading anything. It is currently available in 28 countries:

Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Slovakia
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States

You don't need a Game Pass subscription to use this service. Here's how to sign up for free:

Visit Xbox Cloud Gaming website on your browser.
Sign in with your Microsoft account.
Search and launch Fortnite.

2) Amazon Luna (Free with Amazon Prime)

Amazon Luna is a cloud gaming service that allows Prime members to play games on iPhones via Safari. If you don't have Amazon Prime, you can subscribe to Luna+. It is currently available in 14 countries:

United States
United Kingdom
Canada
Germany
France
Italy
Spain
Austria
Poland
Netherlands
Belgium
Sweden
Portugal
Luxembourg

Here's a step-by-step guide to using Amazon Luna:

Visit the Amazon Luna Fortnite page.
Sign in to your account and click on Play.
Link your Epic Games account and proceed.

Both of these options work smoothly and do not require any installations.

Read more articles here:

About the author

Harshit Singh is a gaming journalist at Sportskeeda, with Fortnite, Counter-Strike 2, and Marvel Rivals being his areas of specialization. A final-year B.Des (Visual Communication) student at Delhi Technological University, he is always eager to pursue creative endeavors. Harshit aims to deliver news and up-to-date content promptly to players around the globe. To that end, he acquires information from reliable forums and social media pages and religiously tracks the latest coverage of Fortnite — a game he has been playing since 2018. He is often found testing the new meta in-game or spectating competitive tournaments.

Harshit holds a deep love for video games, which stemmed from the hours he spent playing GTA Vice City, NFS Most Wanted 2005, FlatOut 2, and Total Overdose in his school days. Currently, he is veering towards story-driven, single-player games, with Red Dead Redemption 2 being one of his favorites.

Harshit is an ardent fan of esports titles like CS, Rocket League, and Valorant, with Fnatic, EDG, G2, and Astralis being a few of his favorite orgs. Counter-Strike pro Xantares and Benjifishy, an esports athlete who has mastered both Fortnite and Valorant, are inspirational figures for him.

Harshit works as a music producer under the alias Hysaze. He is extremely passionate about EDM and has garnered over 40 million streams across all platforms. He is also a regular contributor to Fandom’s EDM Wiki.

Know More

Edited by Adarsh J Kumar