That’s it, Fortnite is back on Apple devices. Microsoft announced on May 5 the arrival of battle royale on its remote gaming service, Xbox Cloud Gaming. This is the first time since August 2020 that the game has returned to Steve Jobs’ environment.
Fortnite joins the Xbox Cloud Gaming catalog
It is now possible to play Fortnite from any device running iOS, iPadOS, Android or Windows. Only two things are needed: a Microsoft account and Internet access.
The video game market will exceed $200 billion in 2022
Fortnite is the first Free-to-Play game to integrate Microsoft’s cloud gaming service, but it certainly won’t be the last. ” It’s an important step to add a Free-to-Play game to our cloud gaming catalog as we continue to push forward in the cloud realm. », precise Catherine Gluckstein, vice president and product manager of Xbox Cloud Gaming. ” We are starting with Fortnite and we plan to offer more Free-to-Play games in the future that people enjoy. »
For the moment, Xbox Cloud Gaming is accessible in 26 countries, including France.
Epic Games has long opposed Apple
In the summer of 2020, Fortnite sued Apple and Google. Epic accused the two giants of taking advantage of their monopoly on application stores to impose a tax on video game publishers using their services. This commission is up to 30% for each micro-transaction carried out.
In protest, Epic Games, the publisher of the battle royale, offered a third-party payment option. Apple and Google didn’t really appreciate this low blow and decided to remove Fortnite from their respective stores.
During its trial in May 2021, Epic failed to prove monopolistic competition from Apple’s app store. For Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, in charge of the case, the existence of the Android store makes this sector a duopoly in which Apple has 55% of the market share.
Since then, Fortnite had not reappeared on Apple brand devices.
With nearly 200 million players, Fortnite is one of the most popular games in the world. Tim Sweeney, founder and CEO of Epic Games, welcomed the news on Twitter. ” Fornite is now FREE to stream […] through the Xbox Cloud. No subscription required, no 30% Apple tax. »