Epic's ongoing battle with Apple over Fortnite's availability on iOS devices has escalated, with Epic accusing Apple of blocking its game submission, preventing its release on the U.S. App Store.

Earlier this month, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney announced that Fortnite would soon return to the U.S. iOS App Store following a significant court ruling. On April 30, a U.S. Federal District Court in California determined that Apple had willfully violated a court order in the Epic Games v. Apple case, mandating that Apple allow developers to offer alternative payment options outside of their apps.

Epic's Tim Sweeney remains steadfast in his mission to challenge Apple and Google, vowing to continue the fight for as long as necessary. Photo by SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg. In January, IGN detailed how Sweeney had invested billions in this legal battle against Apple and Google, viewing it as a crucial long-term investment for Epic and Fortnite's future. Sweeney expressed to IGN his belief that Epic could sustain this fight for decades.

Sweeney's efforts to bring Fortnite back to iOS and Android devices while circumventing the standard 30% store fees have been well-documented. Epic's goal is to distribute Fortnite through its own Epic Games Store on mobile devices, bypassing Apple and Google's revenue cuts. This conflict led to Fortnite's removal from iOS back in 2020.

Despite Sweeney's recent tweet suggesting Fortnite's imminent return to iOS, the game remains unavailable. Epic has since released a statement to IGN, revealing that:

“Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it.”

“Hi Tim. How about if you let our mutual customers access Fortnite? Just a thought.”

Hi Tim. How about if you let our mutual customers access Fortnite? Just a thought.

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) May 15, 2025

Following the court's ruling, Apple faced further legal repercussions when it was referred to federal prosecutors for violating the U.S. court order. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers emphasized, "Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated. This is an injunction, not a negotiation. There are no do-overs once a party willfully disregards a court order."

The Judge also referred Apple and its Vice President of Finance, Alex Roman, to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation, citing Roman's misleading testimony regarding Apple's compliance with the injunction.

In response, Apple issued a statement expressing strong disagreement with the decision but affirmed its intention to comply with the court's order and appeal the ruling. Last week, Apple requested a pause on the ruling from the U.S. appeals court in the Epic Games case.