Microsoft and Epic Games team up to sneak Fortnite back onto iOS

Fortnite has officially been unavailable on iPhones and iPads since the 2020 lawsuit between Epic Games and Apple. Epic has been fighting to get the game back onto iOS, but has been unsuccessful in persuading Apple to change its mind. Fortunately, there are other methods of getting Fortnite running on an iPhone, with Microsoft's xCloud service being one of them. 

Microsoft did support Epic's fight against Apple and Xbox executives did testify during the trial. Now, Microsoft has helped Epic Games get Fortnite back on iOS through streaming.

As of today, Fortnite is coming to Xbox Cloud Gaming, otherwise known as xCloud. This will allow anyone with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to stream a touch-friendly and controller-friendly version of the game to an iPhone or iPad.

Catherine Gluckstein, Vice President and Head of Product at Xbox Cloud Gaming, noted that this is “an important step” for the service, which now has a major free-to-play title for its cloud gaming service. Epic Games CEO, Tim Sweeney, was also pleased to make the announcement, pointing out the company's ability to avoid the 30% “Apple tax” by teaming up with Microsoft. Of course, it is also worth noting that Fortnite is also available on GeForce Now, so you could technically stream the game to an iPhone or an iPad already, although the GeForce Now version doesn't support touch controls.

KitGuru Says: Apple has not commented on the situation yet, but it will be interesting to see if the company will respond. 

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