In a news that has stirred the gamer community in Brazil, Epic Games confirmed on Monday (10) that Fortnite, one of the most popular games in the world, will be made available again on IOS from July.
victory against Apple promises to bring the title back to Apple devices in Brazil after more than three years of absence. This change represents an important milestone for iOS platform players, who have been deprived of accessing the game since 2020.
The legal battle that lasted three years
The story between Epic Games and Apple dates back to 2020, when Fortnite was removed from the App Store for violating Apple's payment policies. EPIC % commission charging on store transactions.
This movement resulted in a number of lawsuits and judicial disputes, including accusations of Apple's monopolistic practices. Epic Games did not accept the decision to remove the game and started a legal battle to reverse the situation, claiming that Apple was restricting competition unfairly.
Now, with the favorable decision of CADE (Administrative Council for Economic Defense), Apple will be required to allow Epic Games Store on its App Store. This means that Fortnite can be downloaded again and played on iPhones and iPads in Brazil, giving a new chance for players to gather in the virtual battle.
The impact on Brazilian players
For many Fortnite players in Brazil, the departure of the App Store game was a hard blow. At the time, the title had a base of 116 million active users only in the Apple ecosystem .
Fortnite removal has left many fans of the game without an official option to play it on their mobile devices, forcing them to resort to alternatives such as Android or cloud versions.
Now, with the confirmed return to iOS, Brazilians will again have access to the game officially and without the need to resort to alternative tricks or platforms.
Fortnite on Android and Europe: the path to Brazil
Since 2020, Epic Games has waged an intense struggle to reverse this situation . In 2021, Fortnite returned to Android, but Apple continued to keep the game out of his store . More recently, in 2023, Epic got the title again released in the European Union, and now, with Cade's decision, Brazil will be next to access this updated and unrestricted version.
Epic Games has celebrated the victory, especially the role of the European Commission to force Apple to allow competition and ensure a more open ecosystem for game developers. Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic, stated in a statement:
"We are very grateful to the European Commission not only by approving Digital Markets Act (DMA) and allowing competition between stores, but also by pressuring Apple and Google to ensure that they cannot simply obstruct competition."
The restriction of time at Xbox Game Pass and the continuity of the dispute
Recently, Microsoft has also implemented restrictions on those who play fortnite through the Xbox Game Pass in the cloud . For those who are not subscribers to the Ultimate Plan, the game time was limited to 60 minutes per session, and after reaching that limit, players need to wait in a row, which can result in waiting times of up to 80 minutes.
This measure reflects the attempt to generate more adhesions to the Ultimate Plan, which has unlimited access to exclusive games and services. However, this change directly affects players who access Fortnite through the cloud, who will now need a signature for a more fluid and without interruption experience.