Epic debuts the Epic Games Store on iOS in the EU, offering its games, including Fortnite, and plans to start onboarding third-party games starting in December
Apple can go to hell — [images] @macstories@mastodon.macstories.net : The Epic Cost of Tim Sweeney's App Store Disputes with Apple and Google https://www.macstories.net/... Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith … : Now do Steam. — [images] X: @nytimes : Governments around the world have pressured Apple with laws and lawsuits that aim to loosen its grip over the digital economy. Now, the tech giant is beginning to make concessions that could change people's iPhone experience. https://www.nytimes.com/... Thomas Ricouard / @dimillian : Hello 🇺🇸, so we in the EU have Fortnite on iPhone, but you don't. Force once that we have something that you don't, and I'm happy. Tim Sweeney / @timsweeneyepic : @malti_offiziell @vlexz97 iPad support is coming soon. Thomas Ricouard / @dimillian : Fuck you Apple for having an UX as convulated as this. [image] Thierry Breton / @thierrybreton : As of today, thanks to the #DMA, a new app store can be downloaded on iOS & Android devices. Great news for EU users & app developers across the globe who want to do business here. Yes, gamers, Europe means more #FREEDOM & choice! 🎮🇪🇺 #FreeFortnite https://www.epicgames.com/... [image] @mysk_co : Trying out @EpicGames Store for iOS in the EU. @FortniteGame is back to the iPhone, and a couple scare views won't scare a #Fortnite gamer. [image] Tim Sweeney / @timsweeneyepic : #FreeFortnite status: Fortnite has been freed on iOS in Europe, thanks to the Digital Markets Act. Apple continues to block Fortnite from a billion players in the rest of the world, and the battle rages on to restore free market competition. https://www.youtube.com/... Alex Guichet / @alexguichet : I'm very ready for a user revolt against @AppStore policies because Epic has published for iOS in the EU. Apple, it's time. Make the next era of iOS start now. Florian Mueller / @florian4gamers : Note that Apple is still taxing this through various fees that @TimSweeneyEpic labeled junk fees. So Fortnite hasn't gained unfettered freedom, but it's remarkable that it's back. That said, all in all alternative app stores in the EU won't account for more than, at best, a low @char_personal : I knew the UK leaving the EU was a bad idea [image] Stephen Totilo / @stephentotilo : Sweeney to me: - $1 billion “is a small price to pay for the future freedom of our company and of all the others who want to participate in the market” - “We regard the mobile gaming business as largely broken” - Etc Read in full at the link (paywalled; there's a free trial) Stephen Totilo / @stephentotilo : - Epic says “almost all” of the top 250 mobile game devs are leery to sell in Epic's store because it'd trigger new Apple fees - Apple says 99% of all devs are exempt - Sides disagree on count of install steps for EGS on iOS. Epic: 15; Apple: 5. Count for yourself (vid via Epic) [video] @mustardplays : This is huge. If Epic can get this in the US it's a whole new ball game for Fortnite and Creative. Roblox is so huge because they tap into the mobile space. If Fortnite can start getting mobile players, CCUs will skyrocket! Mario Nawfal / @marionawfal : APPLE'S WALLED GARDEN STARTS TO CRUMBLE Apple's once-impenetrable App Store walls are breaking down as the company has been forced to allow Epic Games to launch a rival store and Spotify to promote discounts directly in their app across Europe. In the U.S., Apple is opening its [image] Stephen Totilo / @stephentotilo : NEW: With Epic rolling out the Epic Game Store on mobile in the EU today, I asked @TimSweeneyEpic how much the fight against Apple and Google has cost Epic... About $1 billion, but it's been worth it, he said. Lots more in this morning's Game File: https://www.gamefile.news/... Andreas / @constantinidisa : IT'S HAPPENING! 🎮👀 #EpicStore available NOW! In a press release, Epic confirmed that the Epic Games Store is available to download on Android devices worldwide, in addition to iPhones, but only for Apple smartphone owners based in the EU. LFG! https://store.epicgames.com/ ... [image] Peter Kafka / @pkafka : Four years ago Epic Games dared Apple to kick Fortnite off the iPhone. Apple kicked Fortnite off the iPhone. Now Fortnite is back on the iPhone - but only in Europe, thanks to regulators there. Gergely Orosz / @gergelyorosz : Wow: that the only way to play Fortnite on iOS is to be in the EU. This begs the question: when you pay $1,000+ for a new high-end iPhone: why can you not play this (wildly popular game) in places like the US or Asia? Why can Apple ban it “just” for not using Apple's payments? Tom Warren / @tomwarren : Epic Games has launched its own app store on iOS today in the EU, bringing Fortnite back to the iPhone four years after Apple pulled the game from its App Store https://www.theverge.com/... [image] @fortnitegame : Back like we never left. Download Fortnite via the new Epic Games Store on Android worldwide & iOS in the European Union and complete mobile Quests to unlock the Katalina Outfit ✨ http://fortnite.com/... [video] @theagentshadow : Fortnite Returns to iOS in the European Union! On August 16, a downloadable version of Fortnite will return to iOS in the EU! Learn how to download and, for EU and non-EU players, get the Katalina Outfit. https://www.fortnite.com/... @wired : Apple's own App Store is officially getting some well-deserved competition. Today, Epic Games officially launched a rival app store for iOS in the EU, marking the first time Apple's own App Store has had to face a serious rival. 🔗 https://www.wired.com/... [image] Tom Warren / @tomwarren : Epic Games has launched its own app store on iOS today, bringing Fortnite back to the iPhone four years after Apple pulled the game from its App Store https://www.theverge.com/... [image] Shiina / @shiinabr : FORTNITE IS BACK ON IOS IN THE EU!!! 🔥 Head to https://www.fortnite.com/... on iOS to download the Epic Games Launcher there. 👀 [image] Forums: r/gamernews : Epic's Tim Sweeney: Fighting Apple and Google has cost Epic about $1 billion r/gamingnews : Epic's Tim Sweeney: Fighting Apple and Google has cost Epic about $1 billion r/Android : The Epic Games Store Launches on Mobile
Context & Ripple Effects
Epic’s iOS store path moved from a reinstated developer account to Apple’s subsequent approval of the storefront, creating the conditions for this EU launch.
The rollout follows Epic’s decision to distribute its titles through AltStore and other alternative stores as well, positioning Epic to pursue multiple iOS routes rather than a single storefront.
First-order effects
- EU iOS users can obtain Epic’s own games, including Fortnite, through Epic’s storefront rather than relying solely on Apple’s App Store.
- Epic gains a direct iOS distribution channel in the EU and says it will begin admitting third-party games in December, shifting the store from a first-party outlet toward a marketplace.
Second-order effects
- Third-party game publishers gain a prospective additional EU iOS route, while alternative stores such as AltStore compete for Epic titles and future developer relationships.
- Apple must accommodate a prominent rival storefront on EU iOS even as store approval and distribution remain points of operational leverage, as shown by the earlier approval dispute over Epic’s store design.
Third-order effects
- If third-party onboarding develops, EU iOS game distribution could become more multi-store, with developers weighing storefront reach, commercial terms, and control rather than treating the App Store as the sole channel.
- The episode is a practical test of whether regulated opening of mobile platforms produces durable competing marketplaces or merely limited distribution alternatives that still depend on the incumbent’s rules.
The trend: EU platform rules are turning mobile app distribution from a single-store model into a contested marketplace layer, beginning with high-value game ecosystems.