On May 8th Apple asked a court to pause a recent decision in its case against Epic Games and allow them to once again charge a commission on in-app transactions that link out for payment.

Now in a new Reuters report, Apple has blocked the "Fortnite" video game on its iPhones in the United States and through the game maker's own store in the European Union, its maker Epic Games said on Friday.

Eurogamer Quotes Epic: "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," Epic Games said in a statement on social media. "Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it.”

Reuters added that “Access to Fortnite via Apple's iPhone Operating System and through its App store will be unavailable worldwide until Apple unblocks it, Epic Games said.

Epic, a US-based studio, backed by China's Tencent is the world's largest game studio. It was launched in 2017 and its last-player-standing, "battle royale" format became an instant hit, drawing millions of players.

Since 2020, however, it has been in a legal battle with Apple, after the gaming firm alleged that Apple's practice of charging up to 30% in commission on in-app payments violated US antitrust rules.
Apple banned Fortnite from its store in 2020 but allowed the game back last year following pressure from European Union authorities for Big Tech companies to comply with the bloc's Digital Markets Act.”

Lastly, Eurogamer added a link to a post by Epic’s Tim Sweeny on X as presented below.

Apple’s App Review team should be free to review all submitted apps promptly and accept or reject according to the plain language of their guidelines. App Review shouldn’t be weaponized by senior management as a tool to delay or obstruct competition, due process, or free speech. https://t.co/VauHwntRNR

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) May 16, 2025

Update : 10:23 am PST:

Bloomberg reports that Apple denies Epic's claims in Europe. Apple stated: "We asked that Epic Sweden resubmit the app update without including the US storefront of the App Store so as not to impact Fortnite in other geographies. We did not take any action to remove the live version of Fortnite from alternative distribution marketplaces in the EC (European Community)."