Fortnite is coming back on the App Store in Australia after a federal court ordered Apple to open its iOS ecosystem up to competition. The judgement will also force Apple to permit alternative app stores without imposing conditions and allow developers to show alternative payment options, among other clauses. Apple disagreed with the court’s findings and said it would challenge them.
“Big news: Fortnite is coming back to the App Store in Australia tomorrow!” Epic Games wrote in a post on X. “This is great news for developers worldwide and iOS users in Australia who will benefit from an open mobile app ecosystem.”
In May 2026, Fortnite returned to iOS everywhere around the world except Australia because of its ongoing court battle there. Epic said at the time that Apple continued to enforce terms that Australian courts had found to be unlawful and was awaiting a final decision, which arrived yesterday.
Australian courts followed the EU’s blueprint for forcing Apple to open up its ecosystem. At the same time, the ruling includes clauses that would preclude any of the “malicious compliance” Apple has been accused of in the past, like “Core Technology” or developer fees for using third-party app stores.
As a brief summary of the 1,104-paragraph filing, the court ordered Apple to open iOS to third party app stores and allow users to download apps directly from developers. Developers will be able to offer alternative payment systems (free from excessive Apple fees and conditions) and not forced to use Apple’s in-app payment system. The App Store can’t block developers from pointing users to outside apps to make purchases, and users must not find any “friction” when paying with alternative systems or installing apps from outside the App Store.
Apple was also ordered to pay 85 percent Epic’s legal costs and must implement the orders by March 1, 2027 or send proof that it needs an extension by February 15, 2027. However, Apple said it disagreed with many parts of the decision and plans to appeal.
“Apple does not have a monopoly position in Australia or in any market around the world,” a spokesperson told Engadget. “We respectfully disagree with many findings in this case, including a market definition that has been rejected by other courts. We will request a stay and appeal the outcome to seek a resolution that respects our intellectual property and protects the safe, secure experience that consumers and developers expect from the App Store.”
Apple noted that it did win some points in the case, like the court affirming that it’s “entitled to seek a commercial return on its highly valuable intellectual property-protected assets… which developers like Epic take the benefit of.” The court also rejected Epic’s “unconscionable conduct” claims, and as with other territories, did not impose any rate setting.
Update October 22, 2026 at 5:31 AM ET: The article has been updated with Apple’s comment to Engadget.
Correction October 22, 2026 at 8:14 AM ET: The original version of this story claimed Fortnite had already returned to the Australian App Store. This is not yet the case, Engadget regrets the error.
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