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Apple removes Fortnite from App Store following new direct payment system
June 12, 2025
Update #2: August 16, 2025 at 3:48 PM ET:The Apple vs Fortnite battle is raging on. Epic Games announced that it’s taking legal action against Apple for removing Fortnite from the App Store, citing anti-competitive behavior. You can read the full complainthere.
In the paper, Epic wrote:
Fortnite followed up its legal papers witha blog postincluding a #FreeFortnite hashtag and a cheeky take onApple’s 1984 commercialteasing the original Macintosh computer. See below.
Update: August 18, 2025 at 3:00 PM ET:That didn’t take long.Bloomberg’sMark Gurmanconfirmed on Twitterthat Epic’s Fortnite has been removed from Apple’s App Store following the direct payment system update. Indeed, the app is no longer available for downloadfrom the App Store.
Android Authorityis still waiting to hear back from Google and Epic regarding today’s events. For now, it appears Fortnite is still available in the Play Store.
Original article: July 28, 2025 at 12:11 PM ET:Epic Games has been veryvocal about its displeasurewith the 30% cut Apple and Google demand from app sales, and it’s now taking those policies head-on by trying to bypass those stores for in-game currency.
The developer hasintroducedan Epic direct payment system forFortniteonAndroidandiOSthat offers lower prices for V-Bucks while calling out the premium you pay on the App Store and Google Play Store. It costs $10 to buy 1,000 V-Bucks through Apple and Google, for example, but that drops to $8 if you use Epic’s payment method. Prices drop up to 20% if you use direct payment, Epic said.
You’ll also find price cuts of up to 20% if you installed Fortnite on Android through the Epic Games app downloaded either fromthe webor Samsung’sGalaxy Store.
The direct payment system is currently supported in dozens of countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and India. Some of them require US dollars. There are some conspicuous exceptions to support, such as Brazil, mainland China, Russia, South Africa, and South Korea.
The companypitchedthe direct payments as a way to offer “more choice” to players while “pass[ing] along the savings” to players. It pointed to “thousands” of apps that are allowed to offer direct payments (albeit for physical goods) as support for its argument, including Amazon, DoorDash, and Lyft. However, it’s also a not-so-subtle challenge to Apple and Google: either lower your share of in-game purchases or ban one of the most popular games on your store.
Read more:The best battle royale games like Fortnite for Android
We’ve asked Epic and Google for comment.
The move comes right as Apple and Google are facingincreased political scrutinyin the US,the EU, and other areas. Officials are concerned the companies are abusing their app store ownership to stifle competition or otherwise squeeze developers. Epic isn’t necessarily trying to use this scrutiny to its advantage, but any fight over its direct payment system could easily draw more attention from regulators.
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