Fortnite’s return to iPhones in the UK has hit another wall, as Epic Games confirmed it won’t be able to launch the game on iOS in the UK anytime soon.
Sharing their statement in a blog post, Epic explained that “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.” The announcement comes after the UK’s competition regulator released new plans for how Apple and Google must comply with the country’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act.
According to Epic, the CMA’s updated plans failed to open the iOS ecosystem to third-party app stores or payment systems, leaving Epic unable to release Fortnite to iPhone in the UK.
Epic can’t bring Fortnite to UK iPhones
In the statement, Epic continued by explaining that “The CMA, the UK competition regulator, is choosing not to prioritize opening the mobile ecosystem to alternative app stores this year in the roadmaps for Apple and Google that were released today.”
They added that “this is a missed opportunity to introduce competition into a currently monopolized market and unlock economic growth and consumer choice. 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 has spent the last four years challenging Apple’s control of app distribution. Fortnite was originally removed from the App Store in 2020 after Epic introduced its own in-app payment method, violating Apple’s terms.
In the U.S., legal pressure eventually forced Apple to allow links to outside payment systems. That opened the door for Fortnite’s return to iOS via streaming and, later, third-party app stores under the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
But the UK isn’t that simple. While Epic plans to launch the Epic Games Store and Fortnite in Brazil and Japan later this year, the CMA’s decisions could keep UK iOS users locked out for the foreseeable future.
“We hope the CMA will use its consultation process to re-examine these weak roadmap decisions and bring the benefits of genuine app store and payments competition to British consumers,” added Epic.
For the foreseeable future, UK fans of Fortnite won’t be getting the game on their iPhones, and it doesn’t look set to change.
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