Wesley Hilliard
While the ongoing court case will hold up "Fortnite" for the time being, the game will return to Apple platforms on game streaming service GeForce Now before the end of the year.
The Epic Games versus Apple trial is underway and a lot of information about how each platform operates is coming out in documents and discussions. During cross-examination at the trial, Nvidia's Aashish Patel stated a touch-friendly "Fortnite" would launch in October.
First reported by iMore, Patel's testimony called October a "potential date of release" on the streaming platform. No official announcement has been made.
GeForce Now launched in November 2020 on mobile Safari with a selection of gaming titles that could be played via touch and a controller. One notable game was missing from the launch, however, since the PC version of "Fortnite" was not optimized for touch.
GeForce Now did say it would be the first official platform to stream "Fortnite" to iOS after its removal from the App Store.
The discovery was made during early testimony for the Epic versus Apple legal battle. It all kicked off when Epic purposefully violated Apple App Store guidelines and "Fortnite" was removed from iOS — an action that Epic had planned for two years.
Epic prevented "Fortnite" from launching on other services like xCloud due to a revenue agreement made between Epic and Nvidia. All revenue earned via the GeForce Now version of the game goes to Epic, and there's even a method of playing the game without signing into Nvidia's streaming service directly.
The Epic Games versus Apple trial continues over the coming days, and more tidbits of how both companies operate will surface. Epic hopes to wrest control of app distribution and payment systems on the platform. The end result of the trial and any potential action against Apple won't see a ruling for months, and appeals will take years.
Epic didn't have to violate Apple's App Store guidelines to take the company to court. The removal of "Fortnite" harmed Epic's player base and hasn't helped Epic's position in court. Gamers will at least have a way to access the game once it launches on GeForce Now in October.
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Andrew Orr
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
2 Comments
Soon Fortnight won’t be popular anyways
If the GeForce Now content promotes or allows purchases it should be banned too.
The BS of this case is that if the App Store had such limited value to Epic why fight to change it? Clearly it does have value delivered by its current model which justifies Apple keeping it.