FORTNITE fans have been dealt a huge blow as makers Epic have warned the game may never return to iPhones in the UK.
The massively popular online title has been missing from the App Store since 2020 over a dispute on fees between Epic Games and Apple.
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Epic wants to launch its own app store, known as the Epic Games Store.
So far, it’s managed to land in the EU – and Fortnite has returned to iOS in the US too.
The firm had hoped to bring the Epic Games Store to the UK in the second half of 2025.
But in an update, the gaming giant says its return here is now looking “uncertain”.
Epic Games blames the competition regulator, the CMA, for “choosing not to prioritize opening the mobile ecosystem to alternative app stores this year”.
It described the CMA’s latest proposals to improve mobile platforms as “bleak”.
“We can’t bring the Epic Games Store to iOS in the UK this year (if ever), and Fortnite’s return to iOS in the UK is now uncertain,” bosses said.
“Four years after concluding that the App Store and Google Play Store are parallel monopolies the CMA has done nothing to allow competing stores.”
Epic drew upon a recent US court order victory, which it says has benefited other popular apps like Spotify.
“Unless Apple and Google are completely blocked from imposing fees and discriminating against apps using out-of-app payment, we can expect years of malicious compliance ahead, and no genuine restoration of market competition,” Epic added.
The firm said it will introduce the Epic Games Store and Fortnite to other countries, including Brazil and Japan, later this year.
Android users are able to access Fortnite via the Epic Games Store but only by downloading it outside of the Google Play Store – a workaround Apple doesn’t allow on iOS for security and safety.
A spokesperson for the CMA told The Sun: “We are taking action on app distribution – which includes proposing a package of measures that would give UK developers distributing apps on the Play and App Stores a fair deal.
“Our approach takes into account developments in other countries to ensure UK consumers and businesses don’t fall behind.
“Our focus on allowing app developers to steer consumers towards alternatives to the Play and App Store is a good example of this.”
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