‘Fortnite’ Returns to Apple Devices in Europe and Android Globally; Epic Games Still Fighting ‘Anticompetitive’ Block in U.S.

Epic Games has relaunched “Fortnite” in Europe on Apple devices and globally on Android platforms after lengthy legal battles between the companies.

Through rallying support around the Digital Markets Act from EU regulators, the video game company has been able to resume operations of its digital Epic Games Store on iOS in the European Union, but the iPhone maker continues to block access to users outside of the EU.

The store will launch with Epic offerings including “Fortnite” (which launched its “Battle Royale Chapter 5, Season 4: Absolute Doom” Friday), “Rocket League Sideswipe” and new title “Fall Guys” for mobile on iOS and Android, as well as third-party stories that offer side-loading of apps, including AltStore.

Epic has published detailed directions for how to download the games via the Epic Games Store on both iOS and Android via blog posts published alongside the announcement Friday.

Per Epic, “For now, the process of installing the Epic Games Store on iOS and Android is lengthy due to Apple and Google introducing intentionally poor-quality install experiences laden by multiple steps, confusing device settings, and scare screens. We are continuing to fight in courts and work with regulators around the globe to eliminate the anticompetitive terms that Apple and Google impose on developers and consumers, so we can build a better store for everyone.”

“The DMA required us to enable new capabilities for developers in the EU, and we have worked to make them as easy as possible for users while also trying to protect their privacy and security,” Apple said in a statement to Variety Friday.

According to the iPhone maker’s customer support page for installing apps through alternative distributors in the EU, the process takes five steps for a user to install an alternative app marketplace, and similarly five steps to install apps from a developer’s website.

Epic announced plans for the Epic Games Store to relaunch in Europe on iOS and worldwide on Android, as well as the decision to pull from Samsung’s app store, on July 25, following Apple’s June approval of the Games Store amid ongoing push back from EU competition regulators. But Epic did not give a timeline for the Games Store’s relaunch at that time.

“The tide is turning and the mobile ecosystem is finally opening up to competition,” Epic Games CEO and founder Tim Sweeney said in a statement Friday. “We are grateful to the European Commission for making it possible to launch the Epic Games Store and offer our games to iOS users in the European Union. Now European iOS users and all Android users can access our store and games, as they’ve always been able to do on open platforms like PC and Mac. The fight is far from over, but this is tangible progress for developers and consumers who can begin to benefit from competition and choice.”

In a press conference with reporters, Sweeney expanded on his concerns about Apple and Google’s “anticompetitive” approach and how he believes it harms the digital and gaming consumer experience, as there remains no clear end in sight for Apple’s block in the U.S.

“They are so thorough about hiding the disadvantages from consumers that a lot of people can’t even envision a better world that could exist if there were real competition,” Sweeney said. “The other effects of Apple’s lack of competition is that there aren’t other stores providing better examples of how to do things, they’re disciplining Apple’s own actions. For example, when ‘Fortnite’ was on the App Store, when you searched for ‘Fortnite,’ the first result was always some other game, because Apple sold the top result for ‘Fortnite’ to a competitor. And the user searching for ‘Fortnite’ actually just had to scroll around to find our actual game. Now, Google has several ads in front of every organic search result that make it harder and harder to find the thing you’re actually looking for. That’s the store getting worse, and you have no alternative. You can’t go to another store without throwing away your device, and also maybe your computer and maybe your tablet, and maybe your television, and buying all new stuff, and then rebuying your music and movie catalog that you bought from Apple because you’re already locked in.”