After five years, Fortnite returns to iPhone in the US. What happens now?

Epic Games almost made it. "Fortnite" has been available again on Apple's App Store in the US as of Tuesday, ending a nearly five-year ban and marking a significant victory for the video game company. Earlier this month, the game developer had asked a court to force Apple to approve access to Fortnite, which it said was still blocked from the platform despite a ruling in its favour. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled on Monday that Apple would have to settle the dispute or have a company official appear before her.

Epic and Apple jointly filed a notice on Tuesday, claiming that they had "resolved all issues" related to a motion for enforcement last week.

Tim Sweeney and Tim Cook have been facing off in the courts since 2020. Apple had banned Fortnite after Epic offered players an alternative payment method for the title's in-game currency. The system operated outside the App Store, violating Apple's policies.

After a lengthy legal battle, Gonzalez Rogers ordered Apple to allow app developers to collect payments outside its App Store. Apple had violated a court order requiring it to allow third-party payment options, he said in early May.

Epic sent Fortnite to the US App Store for approval on 9 May. The approval process took significantly longer than Apple's typical 24 hours, which triggered complaints that it was blocked. The removal of Fortnite from the platform disrupted access for over a billion iPhone and iPad customers.