Fortnite is back on iPhones and iPads in Australia. Epic Games returned the game to the Australian App Store on Thursday, October 22, after the Federal Court of Australia found that Apple violated competition law and ordered it to open up iOS.
Epic announced the return in a post on its newsroom account, calling it “great news for developers worldwide and iOS users in Australia.” Australia had been the one country left out when Fortnite returned to the App Store around the world earlier this year.
What the court decided
In a decision published by the Federal Court, Justice Jonathan Beach found that Apple had a “substantial degree of power” in the markets for iOS app distribution and in-app payments, and that it used restrictions on alternative app stores and payment methods to limit competition. GamesIndustry.biz notes that the ruling runs 235 pages.
Apple plans to fight it. A spokesperson told Reuters the company will “request a stay and appeal the outcome to seek a resolution that respects our intellectual property and protects the safe, secure experience that consumers and developers expect from the App Store.”
What changes in March 2027
Unless an appeal changes things, several bigger changes for Australian iPhone users and developers are set to take effect in March 2027:
- iOS will be open to third-party app stores, and users will be able to download apps directly from developers.
- Developers can offer alternative payment methods, and Apple cannot require its own in-app purchase system or add extra fees.
- Apple cannot block developers from pointing customers to places outside the App Store to make purchases.
- Apple cannot charge additional fees on purchases made through third-party app stores.
The Epic Games Store itself will come to iOS in Australia at a later date. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney called the ruling a “huge victory for consumers and developers.”
The fight dates back to 2020, when Apple pulled Fortnite from the App Store after Epic added its own payment option. The game returned in the US in 2025 and in most other countries in May 2026, but Australia stayed blocked until now. It has been a busy month for Epic, which also put its new games launcher into preview. For Australian players, the immediate result is simple: Fortnite is downloadable on iOS again.
