Oliver Haslam on August 28, 2020, 11:05 pm

Epic Again Tells iOS And Mac Gamers Why They Can’t Play Fortnite Chapter 2 – Season 4

If you’re an iPhone, Mac, or iPad gamer you’re already well aware of the fact that you’re missing out on Fortnite Chapter 2 – Season 4 thanks to the ongoing spat between Apple and Epic. The latter got Fortnite banned by breaking App Store rules around in-app purchases, but it sent an email out overnight to try and once more put the blame on Apple.

The email itself started out strongly, saying that Apple is blocking Fortnite from being updated to support the new season.

Apple is blocking Fortnite updates and new installs on the App Store, and has said they will terminate our ability to develop Fortnite for Apple devices. As a result, the Chapter 2 – Season 4 update (v14.00), did not release on iOS and macOS on August 27.

That’s strictly true, but the reason it’s being blocked is because Epic broke the rules. Still, Epic makes sure that everyone knows that they can still play Fortnite, so long as they play on PC, PS4, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch.

Gamers can however continue to play on their Apple devices, but they’ll be left playing last season’s content. That’s less than ideal, but Epic seems to think it’s a price worth paying to fight Apple’s anti-competitive behavior.

Apple limits competition so they can collect 30% of consumer payments made in apps like Fortnite, raising the prices you pay. Epic lowered prices through a direct payment option, but Apple is blocking Fortnite in order to prevent Epic from passing on the savings from direct payments to players. Epic has taken legal action to end Apple’s anti-competitive restrictions on mobile device marketplaces. Papers are available for our August 13, August 17, and August 23 filings. In retaliation for this action, Apple blocked your access to Fortnite updates and new installs on all iOS devices.

We’d be very interested to know how everyone feels about that stance, especially when it means they’re missing out on playing all the Season 4 content Epic is making such a big fuss about right now.