There will be no Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 4 iOS and Android release according to a new update from Epic Games, highlighting one of the major consequences in its legal battle against both Apple and Google.
“Apple is blocking Fortnite updates and new installs on the App Store, and has said they will terminate our ability to develop Fortnite for Apple devices,” stated an update to the Fortnite Mega Drop FAQ (via The Verge). “As a result, Fortnite’s newly released Chapter 2 – Season 4 update (v14.00), will not release on iOS and macOS on August 27.”
The lack off a Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 4 iOS and Android release will be especially tough for Apple gamers. Android players will be able to go to fortnite.com/Android and download the Epic Games App to install the game, but no such option exists for Apple devices due to its walled garden nature.
So, what happened? Earlier this month, Epic Games launched the Fortnite Mega Drop, a permanent 20% discount on V-Bucks and premium paid content. While most platforms simply had a drop in price, Android and iOS introduced the “Epic Direct payment,” a payment scheme that would entirely bypass Apple and Google’s 30% revenue share on their respective app stores.
Understandably, neither Apple nor Google took too kindly to this circumvention. Apple removed Fortnite from the iOS App Store later that day and Google soon followed suit by removing Fortnite from the Google Play Android store. Epic has initiated legal action against both companies in a massive legal battle that’s going to be a terrible mess.
Anyone with the slightest familiarity with law and the courts knew that a Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 4 iOS and Android release was very unlikely and now Epic Games has confirmed this as happening. It will likely be several months (if not several years) before the game returns to either platform. In the meantime, at least Android gamers will have a way to play while these lawsuits work their way through the courts.
