A judge forced 'Fortnite' to return to iOS, with an assist from Microsoft and Spotify

Judge forces 'Fortnite' return to iOS, as Microsoft and Spotify assist | Mashable

Epic Games had some help crossing the finish line.

mashable.com

Fortnite has finally busted back onto the iOS App Store after a five-year ban, thanks to a court order from Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers forcing Apple to reinstate the game—or prove a legal reason not to. Epic had submitted Fortnite for review only to be stonewalled by Apple until the judge stepped in; within 24 hours of her ruling, the battle royale was back on iPhones.

Epic didn’t go it alone, though. Microsoft filed an amicus brief backing Epic (it’s itching to launch an Xbox mobile store and hates Apple’s in-app purchase rules), and Spotify, Meta and X chimed in too—Spotify even became the first big name to roll out external payment links once Apple was compelled to allow them. All that courtroom tag-teaming means the saga is winding down, and U.S. players can jump into Fortnite on iOS again.