Apple users, rejoice! Fortnite is finally back on iOS devices… kinda.

Fortnite is back on iOS devices after more than a year-long absence from Apple’s App Store. Well, sort of. Now, before you run off trying to log into your Fortnite account to buy skins from the Fortnite Item Shop through your iPhone, there’s something you need to know about first. Here’s the deal: Epic Games’ battle royale blockbuster won’t necessarily be returning to the App Store, but it’ll instead be playable in Apple’s Safari web through via Nvidia’s GeForce Now, a game-streaming service. There’s also an Android version which will also be playable through GeForce Now. Fortnite is finally available to play again on Apple’s hardware thanks to this collaboration between Epic Games and Nvidia GeForce Now; however, as with all things in life these days, there’s a catch.

Why Fortnite is No Longer Available for iOS Devices in the First Place

It was a sad day for those that had Fortnite account for their Apple products when the battle royale was removed from the App Store in August 2020. It all started when Epic Games added a new option to the Fortnite Item Shop which allowed players to purchase V-Bucks, Fortnite’s paid in-game currency, directly from them. This sneaky option bypassed the App Store’s 30% cut of purchases made on the platform, therefore violating Apple’s terms.

Epic already anticipated this, but Apple quickly removed their game from the App Store as a result. This led to Epic Games filing a lawsuit against Apple, and after a very public trial and lengthy deliberation, the judge in the case ruled that Apple has no right to prohibit developers from including external links, metadata buttons, and other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms. It’s all pretty convoluted, but basically, Apple lost the case. Despite their loss though, Fortnite remains barred from Apple’s App Store. According to the CEO of Epic Games, Tom Sweeney, Fortnite may be unavailable natively on iOS for up to five years.

This Was Already Promised Way Back in 2020

Many people are probably thinking that this collab between Nvidia and Epic was a surprise, when in fact, both have been promising that Fortnite would come back to iOS through GeForce Now via Safari’s web browser as far back as November 2020 when the game-streaming service first launched on Apple’s hardware. The reason for the long wait was that it took quite a bit of time to sort out the details.

Fortnite has technically been available on GeForce Now (for Android users), but the version of the game is simply a streamed copy of the desktop version of Fortnite. The new version that Epic and Nvidia are beta testing now is optimized for mobile devices that have similar menus and touchscreen controls to the original Android and iOS versions of the game.

Why Nvidia?

Nvidia is the only game streaming service that Epic Games is partnering up with for Fortnite. As a deposition in the Apple and Epic trial that we witnessed last year, Epic deliberately isn’t allowing Microsoft to offer their game as part of its xCloud service due to concerns that Microsoft’s service would compete with their PC offerings. Plus, streaming Fortnite through xCloud to iOS also meant that Epic would have to pay a 30% fee for in-app purchases – similar to Apple’s fees that led to a lawsuit in the first place.

GeForce Now will merely act as a conduit for Epic’s already existing storefront. Meaning, Epic Games won’t have to hand over a single cent to Nvidia for any of the in-game purchases that players make on the new streamed version of Fortnite.

Final Thoughts

Nvidia and Epic haven’t said anything regarding how long the ongoing beta will last or when players can expect the GeForce Now streamer version of Fortnite to be available for iOS and Android Fortnite account owners. Game streaming, in recent years, has improved leaps and bounds, but it’s hard to imagine that a streamed version of a game will be a better long-term solution than the native Fortnite app that used to be present on the App Store. Still, for anyone that’s looking to get a quick round of Fortnite on the go, the GeForce Now option is better than nothing. What do you think about Fortnite being available in GeForce Now? Let us know down below!

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