The removal ofFortnitefrom the Apple App Store and the subsequent ongoing lawsuit between Epic Games and Apple is well known. As such,Fortniteplayers have been under the assumption that they won’t be able to play the battle royale on iOS devices for the foreseeable future. It seems the wait may be shorter than expected, however. A new report claims thatFortnitewill once again be playable on iOS starting later this year, but there’s a major catch.
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What’s preventingFortnitefrom being playable on iOS is that there is only one way to download and update games, theApple App Store. While Android makes it challenging to download apps outside of the Google Play Store, it’s still possible. There’s no such option on iOS. The closest is through a browser, either Apple’s own Safari browser or another app. Browsers exist in a way that Apple can’t, or at least isn’t willing to, censor them. As such, cloud gaming traffic is treated the same as all other browser traffic.
As for whyFortnitehasn’t been made available this way before, it’s because there haven’t been anycloud gaming servicesavailable this way yet. GeForce Now will be the first, with the BBC reporting thatFortnitewill once again be available on iOS through GeForce Now starting later this year.
It wouldn’t be surprising if GeForce Now is just the first cloud gaming service to makeFortniteavailable on iOS again. Microsoft has already announced plans to do something similar withxCloud and Xbox Game Pass in 2021. Epic Games could even launch its own cloud gaming service specifically forFortnite, if it wanted to.
Regardless of the challenges,Fortnitefans who played on iOS will be pleased to know that they at least have an option to play the game. Or, at least, they will have an option soon. It’s unfortunate that GeForce Now charges a subscription to use its services, but that may driveEpic Gamesto find more accessible solutions for players further down the line. In the meantime, Epic’s lawsuit against Apple continues.
Fortniteis available now on PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and mobile devices, with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions also in development.
