Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney announced on May 19 that a U.S. district judge has ordered Apple to explain why Fortnite is still not available on the iOS App Store, despite earlier court rulings that appeared to favor Epic.
The order gives Apple until May 21 to submit a formal response outlining its reasoning for keeping the popular battle royale title off its platform.
Importance: This development marks another key moment in the lengthy legal battle between Apple and Epic Games, which began in 2020 following Apple’s removal of Fortnite from the App Store.
A recent ruling on April 30 found that Apple had violated a 2021 injunction related to its counterclaim against Epic. In response, Sweeney took to social media to suggest Fortnite could be returning to iOS devices soon.
Since that ruling, Epic submitted updated Fortnite builds to Apple for review. However, after several days of silence, Apple rejected the app on May 16. Sweeney publicly criticized the delay, suggesting the app review process was being misused by Apple’s upper management to stall the game’s return.
Apple Ordered To Justify Fortnite Ban
In light of Apple’s rejection, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an Order to Show Cause, compelling Apple to explain its decision.
The court’s directive also gives Epic Games an opportunity to respond by 10:00 AM Pacific on May 23, depending on whether Apple meets its May 21 deadline.
If Apple does not comply by May 21, Judge Rogers has ordered that the Apple executive responsible for keeping Fortnite off the App Store must appear in court for a hearing scheduled on May 27 in Oakland.
Apple has previously argued that it need not follow the injunction while its request for a stay is still pending with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This latest court action, however, signals the judge’s growing impatience with the delay in restoring Fortnite to the App Store.
While multiplayer titles like PUBG Mobile continue to thrive on iOS, the prolonged absence of Fortnite highlights how unresolved the dispute between Epic and Apple remains.
Meanwhile, Epic Games is also facing new legal trouble outside the Apple case. The company has been hit with allegations from SAG-AFTRA regarding the use of AI to generate a Star Wars Darth Vader NPC in Fortnite.
With multiple legal fronts to manage, the pressure on Epic is mounting, and how these cases unfold could have lasting implications across the tech and gaming industries.
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