Fortnite is back on iOS in Australia — a court found Apple broke competition law

Fortnite is returning to iOS in Australia after the Federal Court of Australia ruled that Apple must open iOS to third-party app stores, finding it violated competition law.

In a 235-page decision, the court found Apple restricted alternative app stores and payment methods in order to limit competition. Justice Jonathan Beach said Apple had a "substantial degree of power in the iOS app distribution services market and iOS in-app payment solutions market."

Apple isn't done fighting

An Apple spokesperson told Reuters the company would "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."

So this isn't final — but Fortnite returns in the meantime, with the Epic Games Store to follow at a later date.

What changes in March 2027

• Users can download apps directly from developers
• Developers may offer alternative payment methods, and Apple cannot require its own in-app purchases or impose additional fees
• Apple can't block developers from pointing customers to third-party stores outside the App Store
• Apple can't charge additional fees on purchases made through third-party app stores

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney called it a "huge victory for consumers and developers."

The six-year thread

Epic and Apple's dispute began in 2020, when Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store for allegedly bypassing platform fees. This year Fortnite returned to iOS globally — excluding Australia, because Epic had only partially won. Australia remained blocked over what Epic described as an illegal payment arrangement.

Two things are worth noticing. First, the pattern: the EU forced the door open in September 2024, the US followed after a district court ruling, and now Australia. Each jurisdiction is reaching the same conclusion on its own timetable. Second, the timetable itself — March 2027 for the actual mechanics. Court wins have a long tail, and the store you can install today is not the store the ruling describes.

One footnote for a site like this: the same platform rules that kept a single game off iOS for years are the ones that shape whether small browser-based ports can be distributed at all.