Fortnite has been banned by both Apple and Google after Epic Games introduced is own payment system for in-game items.
Fortnite has just been banned by Apple and Google from their app stores. The game is no longer available to download from Google Play and Apple App Store.
Epic Games introduced direct payments in Fortnite’s mobile versions, circumventing the App Store cuts taken by Apple and Google. In response, Apple has removed Fortnite from the iOS App Store, and that in turn has led to Epic filing a lawsuit against Apple. Google followed Apple’s lead later in the day, blocking access to Fortnite from the Google Play Store as well.
Epic has long been protesting the 30 per cent commission on purchases made via the official app stores. In order to bypass the extra cost, the company brought forward its own payment system for purchasing in-game items. However, it violated the Google Play and App Store guidelines, resulting in removal of the game from the store.
As a result, Epic Games won’t be able to push updates to Fortnite via these app stores. On Android, an Epic Games launcher is available for players to sideload the updates. However, players on iPhones and iPads won’t be able to get the new updates. Those who wish to re-install the game won’t be able to do so via the app stores. Hence, Android users will have to rely on the Epic Games launcher while iPhone users need to wait for the case to conclude.