Tim Sweeney never expected Fortnite's five-year ban from the app store

Editor's take: While Fortnite's comeback on iOS is a significant milestone, the story is defined as much by the unexpected length of its absence as by its triumphant return. For CEO Tim Sweeney, the five-year ban was never part of the plan – a reminder of just how unpredictable the intersection of technology, business, and the courts can be. When Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney decided to challenge Apple's App Store policies back in 2020, he anticipated a fierce response. But what he didn't expect was just how long Fortnite, the company's blockbuster game, would be absent from the iOS App Store. "I had actually hoped that we would get an injunction against Apple blocking Fortnite and that we'd only be off for a few weeks," Sweeney told The Verge. Instead, the legal battle between Epic and Apple stretched on for years, leaving Fortnite unavailable to iPhone and iPad users in the United States for nearly half a decade. The removal of Fortnite from the App Store in August 2020 followed Epic ... Read full article.