Earlier this month, the judge overseeing the legal action between Apple andEpic Gamescame to a decision. With it, it mostly ruled in Apple’s favor — with the exception of one major ruling. However, there is still room for appeals. And Epic Games is even appealing one of the decisions on its own. As a result, it’s not quite as finalized as some might hope, including Apple and Epic.
With room still for appeals, a “final decision” has yet to be made. And, as a result, Apple has decided that while things are still getting figured out, it’s not prepared to let the mega-popular battle royale gameFortniteback into the App Store. This revelation was made public by Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney on Twitter recently, who said that Epic had “agreed” to follow Apple’s rules for the App Store moving forward.
According to Sweeney, he emailed Apple’s Phil Schiller directly and informed the Apple executive that Epic Games was ready to play by Apple’s rules. He requested that the Epic Games developer account be reinstated, saying that Epic would adhere to Apple’s published App Store guidelines wherever Epic products were released.
Sweeney went on to say that it would only bringFortniteback to the App Store (even with Apple’s acquiescence to bring it back) if Apple followed the orders of the court. Meaning, Epic Games will only bringFortniteback to the App Store if Apple follows the language presented by the court’s decision, meaning Apple needs to add “buttons and external links” to company options for payments, outside of Apple’s own first-party payment option.
Basically, Epic Games will bringFortniteback if it can add its own payment options (or links to options) in its game, the thing that got Epic Games booted from the App Store to begin with.
Here’s Sweeney’s initial tweet, saying Apple “lied” about bringingFortniteback.
Just last week, Epic agreed with Apple that we would play by the same rules as everyone else.pic.twitter.com/WOxsbnAFXE
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic)July 19, 2025
As it stands, Apple has not yet decided if it plans to appeal the court’s decision as it relates to in-app payment options. As a refresher, the court ruled that Apple must allow for other forms of in-app purchase options, which includes links and/or buttons. These can be implemented alongside Apple’s first-party in-app payment option. The company has until December to implement these changes, barring any appeals from Apple’s side.
Apple’s argument for barringFortniteuntil this whole matter is wrapped up –which can takeyears— is due to several reasons. That includes Sweeney’s own public statements following the court’s decisions, and “duplicitous conduct in the past” on the company’s part. It’s worth pointing out that, part of its ruling indicated that Apple does not have to reinstateFortnitebecause Epic Games breached its contract with Apple in the first place. Which means it’s up to Apple’s discretion from here on out.
This probably won’t be resolved anytime soon, frankly. Most interestingly will be how Apple moves forward, wither they implement the changes ordered by the court, or if they appeal.
