Epic resubmits 'Fortnite' to the App Store for review, as its initial request seemingly ignored

Epic Games has once again submitted "Fortnite" to the U.S. App Store for review, after Apple seemingly ignored its previous submission for five days.

On May 9, after announcing its intentions a few days prior, Epic Games tried to get Fortnite back on the App Store by submitting the game for review. While most applications typically get reviewed within 24 hours, this was not the case with Fortnite. Instead, there were no developments in regards to the game's review process for more than 120 hours, or five days.

Given that its request went unanswered for such a long time, Epic Games understandably decided to cancel its initial request for a review. Fortnite leaker Shiima revealed that Epic has submitted a second review request, with the company's CEO Tim Sweeney later confirming the details himself, MacRumors notes.

Sweeney explained that Fortnite is set to receive a new content update across all platforms by May 16, and says that's why Epic Games "pulled the previous Fortnite version submitted to Apple App Review last Friday."

In the days leading up to the initial Fortnite submission, Epic's CEO appeared fairly confident that the game would return to the U.S. App Store within a matter of days. "We've told Apple what we're doing. We've told their developer relations team," commented Sweeney at the time.

"I would be very surprised if Apple took action to block it," said Tim Sweeney. "I can't imagine Apple blocking Fortnite at this point."

Sweeney seems to have been caught by surprise, judging by his previous statements, but it appears that Apple won't reinstate Fortnite without a fight. Though the exact reason for Apple's apparent inaction concerning the Fortnite submission remains unclear, the two companies' lengthy legal battle was more than likely a contributing factor.

The whole ordeal of the Epic vs. Apple saga began in 2020, when Epic attempted to bypass Apple's in-app purchase system and offer direct links to external purchase methods with Fortnite. The game was removed from the U.S. App Store because of this.

Epic Games spent over $100 million in fees and countless hours of litigation to reach a single partial victory.

In 2021, an anti-steering injunction forced Apple to enable links to external purchase options in the United States, but the iPhone maker tried to collect a 27% fee on these purchases. The company is also said to have used "scare screens" in an attempt to dissuade consumers from using external purchase methods.

More recently, in April 2025, a federal court judge found Apple in violation of the 2021 anti-steering injunction. Apple has appealed this ruling, however, and the company announced these plans shortly after the courts made their decision.

After the judge ordered Apple to stop commissions and linking rules for external media, Epic Games CEO extended a peace offering to Apple. At the time, he said that Fortnite would return to the App Store within a week if Apple complied with the judge's order on a global scale. Sweeney's peace offer, however, appears to have been unsuccessful.

Despite Fortnite's most recent setback, in that Apple did not review the original App Store submission for more than five days, Epic Games is still trying. Sweeney appears confident that the app will make its way to the App Store eventually, but time will tell whether or not U.S. gamers will ever be able to enjoy Fortnite on iOS again.