Fortnite heads for iPhone via Europe’s AltStore

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Epic Games will make its highly popular game Fortnite and other titles available via AltStore PAL, the first app marketplace for iPhone to open in the European Union. The game developer is also continuing to work on its own iOS app marketplace, because it’s banned from Apple’s App Store.

So the days of playing Fortnite on iPhone will be back soon … but only for those who live in the right region.

Fortnite for iPhone for a fortunate few

Apple and Epic Games became embroiled in a bitter legal fight years ago In 2020, Epic introduced a version of its popular Fortnite game that circumvented Apple’s requirement that the iPhone-maker receive 30% of in-app payments. As a result, Apple booted Fortnite from the App Store. Epic Games started a lawsuit that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but it still isn’t allowed to put games in the official iPhone App Store.

Then the European Union instituted the Digital Markets Act. Among numerous other changes, this forced Apple to allow rival iOS app marketplaces. Developer Riley Testut jumped into action and created AppStore PAL, which began accepting third-party applications Wednesday.

Epic Games used a blog post Thursday to say, “We are announcing that our mobile games will come to AltStore on iOS in the EU.”

“We’re very excited to be bringing Fortnite and more to AltStore PAL,” Testut told Cult of Mac after the announcement.

That won’t be the only option — Epic said it plans to support “at least two other third-party stores soon.” And, of course, the game developer continues to work on its own Epic Games Store for iOS.

Available soon

While Epic Games’ blog post promises that its popular game “will be returning to iOS in the European Union soon,” it offers no more specific time frame for landing Fortnite in AltStore. And simply so there’s no confusion, Apple only permits rival alternatives to the App Store because of the DMA in EU countries. Nowhere else will Apple allow iPhone users to install applications outside of the official App Store.

Ed Hardy

Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 26 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh SE/30 (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer.

That’s because he’s a “tablet first” type of guy. Rather than use a Macbook, he connects a keyboard case to the iPad. And instead of a desktop Mac, he connects his tablet to a 27-inch display and full-size keyboard. (So don’t try to tell him that everyone has to use a Mac to be productive.)

Before coming to Cult of Mac, Ed wrote for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview and Brighthand, as well as other sites.