The attempted return of Fortnite to the App Store in the United States has been in the making for a long time. They’ve been fighting a battle with Apple for nearly five full years now. They went to court, got the app removed from iOS devices, and then endured a long absence. Then, a light at the end of the tunnel began to show. It’s back in iOS in other regions, but the USA is lagging behind. Here’s the latest.
Image Credit: Gameflip
Fortnite US App Store Return Update
Fortnite submitted the app to be reviewed by Apple. This is standard procedure for all apps. Apple has to make sure they’re good to go before letting them loose on unsuspecting users. The same is true even for an app that used to be available. The game has changed a lot since then. That review was extremely delayed.
ShiinaBR, a leaker, reported that the first request for review went untouched for over 120 hours. Apple themselves have stated that 90% of all apps get reviewed within the first 48 hours. Then, the initial request was canceled, and Epic Games is now going to wait once again for Apple to review Fortnite mobile.
With no review happening now, the game is not available on iOS devices in the USA. Epic is going to attempt for a second time to get the app reviewed, but they’re not doing it until the update this Friday. That update was scheduled for Thursday. It got delayed, and as a result, so did their latest effort to get the game back for all mobile users.
It’s unclear exactly why Apple seemingly ignored the request the first time, and it’s unclear what the second instance will entail. Could there be another lengthy delay? It’s certainly possible, but we won’t know until it happens tomorrow and then we’ll just have to wait and see what Apple does in response.