The video game developer Epic Games has confirmed that the new season of multiplayer Fortnite will not be available on iOS or macOS, amid its legal dispute with Apple .
Epic Games has pointed out that “Apple is blocking Fortnite updates and new installations in the Apps Store”, so iOS and macOS users will not receive the new season of the title.
“The recently released update of Fortnite Chapter 2 – Season 4 (v14.00) will not be released on iOS and macOS on August 27,” the company has confirmed through its website , where it accuses the firm of exercising a monopoly.
The company has ensured that players who have already downloaded the game from the App Store, the official software platform for Apple devices, should not have problems to “continue playing Chapter 2 – Season 3, version 13.40”.
However, the battle pass of season 3 ends this Thursday and “it will not be possible to continue advancing on any platform,” as detailed by Epic Games.
The legal dispute between Epic Games and Apple began when the developer decided to implement its own direct payment system (that is, external to Apple’s, which collects a 30% commission from all payments made within an app) and that, according to the Cupertino company violates the rules of the App Store.
This led to Fortnite’s removal from the platform. The dispute, by the way, is also maintained with Google and its Play Store for the same reason and with the same ‘provocation’ by Epic, although with whom it is having less friendly terms is with Apple. In fact, shortly after the withdrawal of Fortnite the developer published a video in which she accused her rival of controlling everything in the style of the 1984 novel.
In addition, Apple later announced that it would end “all developer accounts” for Epic and restrict the use of “all development tools for iOS and Mac” as of August 28.
In response to Apple’s decision, Epic Games filed a complaint demanding that Apple take no “adverse action” against Epic, such as removing its developer accounts.
United States District Court Judge Yvonne González Rogers issued a ruling on Monday preventing Apple from removing Epic’s developer accounts or denying updates to Unreal Engine, an Epic-owned engine used by thousands of developers whose games are in the App Store and are oblivious to all the controversy .. He also rejected that Fortnite returned to the Apple store.
