Microsoft is throwing its weight behind Epic Games in the fight against Apple — and bringing Fortnite back to iOS in the process. The company announced Thursday that it had partnered with Epic to make Fortnite available on Apple devices through its game streaming service, Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Fortnite is back, but you still won’t be able to just waltz into the App Store and ask for it. To play, you’ll need to hop onto Apple’s Safari browser and visit Xbox.com/play, a process that’s less straightforward but only takes a few minutes to set up, if that. You won’t need a paid subscription to start playing, though you will need to log in to a Microsoft account and link that up with your Epic Games account.
Technically, the new Microsoft workaround is the second loophole that brings the hit shooter back to iPhones and iPads. In January, Nvidia announced that Fortnite would be playable through the chip-maker’s own game streaming service GeForce Now, though Microsoft’s experience is likely to be more appealing.
Epic kicked off a battle against Apple back in 2020 when the Fortnite-maker tried to skirt the company’s 30% cut of in-app purchases, getting the hit game kicked off iOS in the process. Epic sued Apple, accusing the iPhone maker of violating antitrust laws. While a California court didn’t agree, it did require Apple to give developers more freedom to point customers toward payment processes beyond the company’s infamous walled garden.
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