Apple maintains Fortnite ban as Epic pushes back with new court filing

Epic Games has filed a new motion accusing Apple of defying a court injunction by refusing to review the latest Fortnite app submission on the US App Store. 

A US judge recently ruled Apple has been in wilful contempt in violating a 2021 injunction that aimed to stop anti-steering measures and enable developers to provide linkouts to their own alternative payments.

Apple responded by updating its guidelines and said it would comply. Epic then submitted Fortnite for review on May 9th 2025, using a valid developer account that it claimed is fully compliant, including links to the company's own payment options alongside Apple’s.

More delays

Despite updating its policies to allow external payment links, Apple has delayed action and blocked Fortnite’s return. It said it won’t review or approve Fortnite’s app submission for the US App Store until the Ninth Circuit Court rules on its pending request for a partial stay of the new injunction.

Epic has now accused Apple of retaliation and is seeking a court order to enforce the injunction, hold Apple in contempt once again, and require the iPhone maker to promptly accept compliant Epic apps on the US App Store, including Fortnite. 

“We’ve been transparent with Apple about our intentions while they’ve used app review and notarisation as a pretext to circumvent the Court’s injunction and the EU Digital Markets Act," Epic wrote on X.  

“Apple’s “solution” required us to submit two versions of Fortnite, in violation of their guideline that developers shouldn’t submit multiple versions of the same app. 

“That’s not the standard Apple holds other developers to and it’s blocking us from releasing our update in the EU and US. Apple is again retaliating against Epic for challenging the legality of their anticompetitive behavior and we will fight on."

Apple unmoved 

Epic Games also shared a letter it received from Apple in response to blocking Fortnite's submission on May 15th 2025. In the letter, Apple questions the legal basis of Epic Games Sweden submitting Fortnite to the US App Store. 

Moreover, Apple argued that it previously terminated Epic Games’ developer account after Fortnite violated the Developer Program License Agreement (DPLA) by implementing a "hotfix" in August 2020.

Apple pointed out that Epic itself acknowledged the breach and agreed that Apple would be within its rights to terminate the DPLA if it was found enforceable. 

Courts have since upheld Apple's termination as lawful and it claims the recent legal disputes over the court’s injunction do not change the company's right to maintain the termination.

The letter continued by emphasising that Epic's original "hotfix" not only violated Apple's App Review Guidelines in 2020 but would still violate the guidelines even after updates made in 2024 and later. 

Apple also reiterated that it previously refused to reinstate Epic's developer account and will not reconsider this stance until the ongoing US litigation concludes. 

The letter advised Epic to withdraw the current Fortnite submission for the US App Store and resubmit it without including the country’s storefront, to avoid impacting Fortnite's availability in other regions. 

Alternatively, if Epic wants to submit Fortnite for the US App Store, it must do so using a different entity than Epic Sweden - one that has signed the proper DPLA.