Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, hinted that Fortnite would be returning to iOS in 2023. This is almost three years since the game’s best-selling title was removed from the App Store due to breaking platform guidelines. Sweeney tweeted to celebrate the new year and followed it up with a photo of Fortnite characters looking up at fireworks that spell 2023. MacRumors reports.
Epic Games added a direct payment option to Fortnite, which bypassed Apple’s in-app purchase system and violated App Store guidelines. The game was then removed from the App Store in august 2020. Epic Games was ultimately expelled from the App Store by the iPhone maker.
“Epic Games made the unwise decision to violate the App Store guidelines. These guidelines are applicable equally to all developers and are designed to protect our users. Apple stated in a statement that Epic Games had removed their Fortnite app from the App Store.
It added that Epic had enabled a feature in the app that was not approved or reviewed by Apple. Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple after Fortnite was removed from the App Store. The report stated that Epic Games and Apple appealed a September 2021 court decision, which would have required Apple’s developers to add links to external websites in-app.
Recently, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), announced that it reached a $520m settlement with Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite. This was in response to allegations that Epic Games violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and used design tricks known as dark patterns to trick millions of players into making unsolicited purchases. Also read – Fortnite Battle Royale Chapter 4 Season 1 is now available on Xbox, PS5, and Xbox: What’s New
Fortnite earned more than $9 billion in its first two years of existence. Epic will be fined $275 million for violating children’s privacy laws, as well as changing default privacy settings. Additionally, Epic will receive $245 million in refunds to users who were tricked into paying unwelcome charges. “Epic used privacy-invasive default settings, deceptive interfaces, and tricked Fortnite players, including children,” stated Lina Khan, Chair of FTC.
Khan stated in a statement that “Protecting the public and children from online privacy invasions, dark patterns, and other illegal practices is a top priority of the Commission and these enforcement actions make it clear to businesses, that the FTC will crack down on these unlawful acts.”
