Fortnite is back on the App Store in Australia after a court orders Apple to open up iOS

Fortnite is back on Australian iPhones after Justice Jonathan Beach on 22 October ordered Apple to allow rival app stores and payments there by March 2027. Apple says it will appeal.

AI-drafted from 3 sources. This story was written with AI from the outside reporting listed under Sources, and checked by automated tools before it went up. The originals have the full detail.

Fortnite is downloadable from Apple's App Store in Australia again. It went back up within a day of the Federal Court of Australia handing down its remedies in Epic Games' long case against Apple on 22 October 2026, and it closes the last gap in the game's App Store return. When Fortnite came back to the store worldwide in May, Australia was the one country left out, because Epic said it would wait for the court rather than accept Apple's payment terms there.

The orders came from Justice Jonathan Beach. AAP reports that Apple must do what is needed to readmit Fortnite and Epic's other apps once Epic asks in writing, as long as they follow the store's guidelines. That part did not have to wait for anything else, which is why the game was back within a day.

Rival stores and payments by March 2027

The bigger change is for everyone else. According to ABC News, Apple has to open iPhones and iPads in Australia to other app stores, let people install apps from the open web and allow developers to use their own payment systems. It has until March 2027 to make the changes. AAP adds that apps installed outside the App Store will still be subject to security checks, so Apple keeps a say in what runs on its devices even when it does not sell the app.

The ABC puts the number of Australian Apple users affected at an estimated 15 million. It also notes that developers pay Apple fees of 15 to 30 per cent when they use its payment system, which is the commission Epic set out to get around when it added its own payment option to Fortnite in 2020. Apple removed the game from the App Store over that, and Google did the same on Android.

Apple was also ordered to pay 85 per cent of Epic's legal costs, the ABC reports. The liability side of the case was decided back in August 2025, when the same court found that Apple and Google had misused their market power. The orders on 22 October dealt with Apple only. There were none against Google that day.

Apple wants a stay

This may not be the final word. Apple told Reuters, as quoted by the ABC: "We will request a stay and appeal the outcome to seek a resolution that respects our intellectual property." AAP reports that Apple also said it disagrees with many of the court's findings, including how the market was defined, and that it does not hold a monopoly position in Australia or anywhere else. If a stay is granted, the March 2027 deadline could move.

Epic's chief executive Tim Sweeney called the remedies "a huge victory for consumers and developers", according to AAP. MacRumors points out that the order to process Epic's compliant submissions took effect ahead of the wider changes, so Fortnite's return does not depend on how the appeal goes, at least for now.

For Australian players, the practical news is simple: the game can be installed straight from the App Store again on iPhone and iPad, after a gap of about six years. Whether third-party stores actually show up on Australian iPhones next year depends on the appeal.

Sources

Image: Image: MacRumors

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