Fortnite iOS UK Delayed Indefinitely Due to CMA’s Interference

Epic Games announced that it may never be able to bring Fortnite iOS to the UK due to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) overseeing Apple’s mobile platform. This decision affects the Google Play Store as well, but the Apple mobile platform limitations directly bar Epic Games Store’s implementation and thereby Fortnite iOS’ viability to enter the UK market.

For Fortnite iOS to release in the UK, Epic Games needs to be able to connect its payment platform, the Epic Games Store, directly into the game – this is directly prohibited by the CMA’s intervention, which was announced on July 23, 2025. 

Epic claims the Apple App Store and Google Play Store are “parallel monopolies,” and that the CMA has “done nothing to allow competing stores.” The official statement from Epic continues to claim that the CMA’s interference will “extract all the value from the market at the expense of all creators who cannot compete, and consumers who can’t choose the best deal among competing stores.”

The statement then draws reference to the Digital Markets Act in the EU, which introduced market competition through alternative stores on iOS devices, resulting in the launch of AltStore, Aptoide, and Epic Games Store in Europe. Epic’s statement continues criticizing the CMA’s decision, which is imposed until at least 2026: 

“Unless Apple and Google are completely blocked from imposing fees and discriminating against apps using out-of-app payment, we can expect years of malicious compliance ahead, and no genuine restoration of market competition,” the statement claims. 

“We hope the CMA will use its consultation process to re-examine these weak roadmap decisions and bring the benefits of genuine app store and payments competition to British consumers,” Epic urges, communicating frustration surrounding the circumstance that barred its entry to the UK, and thereby preventing the company from profiting from the region.

The CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell emphasized the need for more innovation and choice within both the Apple and Google platforms, as mentioned in a news report from The Guardian. Its focus is on addressing high fees and ensuring a fair and transparent app review process, alongside addressing Apple’s restrictitions to foster competition among financial technology companies, as mentioned in the official CMA UK blog post.

The CMA’s intent with its interference is to increase competition within the mobile ecosystems to benefit consumers, businesses, and app developers. More details regarding the CMA’s process can be found on the offiical blog post linked above.

Tim Sweeney, Founder of Epic, criticized the CMA’s approach for providing a “surprisingly weak roadmap.” He claims the monopolized UK app store economy has “all the vibrancy of a Soviet supermarket.”

Fortnite iOS was recently rereleased on iOS in the United States after winning a legal battle against Apple. Apple used to take a 30% commission on in-app purchases; Epic attempted to circumvent this by adding a direct payment option into the Fortnite iOS app, which resulted in the app being taken down from the App Store.