Epic Games says Apple is blocking Fortnite from the US and EU App Stores

CodeCanyon · Saturday at 07:33 AM

Epic Games claims that Apple is blocking its Fortnite app from the U.S. and EU App Stores.

After winning a decisive victory for app developers in a legal battle with Apple, forcing the tech giant to allow external payments in its U.S. App Store without charging commission, Epic Games attempted to resubmit Fortnite to the U.S. App Store on May 9, 2025.

However, Apple failed to accept its submission for a week, leading Epic Games to pull its request and try again. According to Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, the update was pulled because Epic Games needs to release a weekly Fortnite update with new content, and all platforms must be updated simultaneously.

The company then submitted a new version to the U.S. App Store for review on Wednesday, May 14, with the updated content.

In a Friday morning post on X, Fortnite said that Apple has blocked its latest U.S. submission and has made it so Epic Games can’t release its app to the European Union, either.

“Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it,” the post from Fortnite reads.

TechCrunch reached out to Epic Games and Apple for comment.

Techcrunch event

Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI

Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking.

Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI

Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last.

Berkeley, CA | June 5

REGISTER NOW

Apple disputed Epic Games’ characterization of the issue. A spokesperson for Apple said the following:

“We asked that Epic Sweden resubmit the app update without including the U.S. storefront of the App Store so as not to impact Fortnite in other geographies. We did not take any action to remove the live version of Fortnite from alternative distribution marketplaces in the EC.”

Updated after publication with Apple’s comment.