Epic Games announces Fortnite’s return to iOS in the EU and its exit from the Samsung app store

Epic Games announced on Thursday that its popular game “Fortnite” will soon return to Apple’s iOS systems in the European Union. This move comes amidst an ongoing legal battle with Apple. Epic Games has been challenging the high commissions on in-app payments and the restriction of app downloads to official app stores.

In protest against Samsung’s decision to block default side-loading on Android devices, Epic Games also announced that its games would be removed from the Samsung Galaxy Store. Default side-loading allows users to install apps without using the official app store, and Epic called Samsung’s move “anticompetitive”.

To expand its distribution, Epic Games will bring its mobile games to AltStore on iOS in the EU. AltStore is a third-party store that supports side-loading. Additionally, Epic Games plans to support at least two other third-party stores.

Furthermore, Epic’s marketplace, the Epic Games Store, will be available on Android globally and on iOS in the EU, though no specific timeline was provided.

Earlier in July, Apple approved Epic Games’ marketplace app for iPhones and iPads in Europe after Epic escalated its dispute with Apple. This approval comes as Apple faces significant antitrust scrutiny from EU regulators, who stated in June that Apple’s App Store practices violate the Digital Markets Act.