Fortnite, the widely popular fantasy battle game has released its latest version in late August. However, the bad news is that gamers preparing to play the new season on iPhones, iPads or Mac will be disappointed as they have been locked out.
Consoles like Xbox, Play Station, PC computers, and Nintendo still support the game.
Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite had a legal battle with Apple over the tech giant’s purchases commission of 30%. No Apple product can be used to access the new version of the game.
The previous version can be played by Apple users who already have the game although updates cannot be received. Mac users who just want to download Fortnite for the first time are already out of luck.
In a statement made by Epic Games, it disclosed that Fortnite new installs and updates have been blocked by Apple, with Epic Games’ ability to develop the game for Apple devices being brought to an end.
Apple’s 30% commission on paid apps is a controversial one and is called “the apple tax” by critics who do not endorse it. Epic challenged the commission by launching an online campaign and filing a federal lawsuit.
The online campaign was achieved with a parody video of Apple’s popular Macintosh advertisement of 1984 whose content is a female warrior carrying a club-shaped like a unicorn while running to the battlefield.
Epic also started a tournament that is anti-Apple whereby winners won hats that read #FreeFortnite.
A federal judge ruled in favor of Apple and Epic’s hope of getting Fortnite back on Apple’s app store was defeated. The judge, however, took sides with Epic Games on another matter. She stated that Apple removing Epic’s developer tools named Unreal Engine from Apple devices is an over-retaliation that is uncalled for.
The judge also stated that filmmakers, medical professionals, architects, and other third parties use the Unreal Engine. She concluded that there is freedom for Epic Games and Apple to sue each other, however, their dispute should not affect bystanders negatively.