Apple has rejected a request from Epic Games to restore its developer account, and therefore restore Fortnite to the App Store in South Korea.
As reported in Reuters, the request had been submitted yesterday (September 9), while Epic also publicised this on Twitter via the Fortnite official account.
“Epic has asked Apple to restore our Fortnite developer account,” the statement reads. “Epic intends to re-release Fortnite on iOS in Korea offering both Epic payment and Apple payment side-by-side in compliance with the new Korean law.”
Epic has asked Apple to restore our Fortnite developer account. Epic intends to re-release Fortnite on iOS in Korea offering both Epic payment and Apple payment side-by-side in compliance with the new Korean law.
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) September 9, 2021
The new law in South Korea passed in the country’s parliament on August 31 and is due to take effect on September 15. It bans major app store operators like Apple from forcing software developers to use their payment systems.
This means that developers would be able to take payment directly from customers and bypass Apple’s own payment systems, which charge a commission on in-app purchases.
Epic had previously introduced a direct payment system for Fortnite on iOS and Android last year, which resulted in the game being removed from the App Store as well as the Google Play Store. The legal battle has however been between Epic and Apple, with a highly publicised trial happening in May.
While the law change in South Korea might sound like Epic should be able to do what got it taken off the App Store for originally, it’s still up to the platform provider to permit companies to its store in the first place.
Apple said Epic Games would have to agree to comply with Apple’s App Store review guidelines and it will not consider any request for reinstatement of Epic Games’ developer program account in the absence of such an agreement.
“We would welcome Epic’s return to the App Store if they agree to play by the same rules as everyone else”, Apple said in an emailed statement.
Elsewhere, Lego has labelled a few Super Mario sets as “retiring soon” on its website, although there is currently no set date for when the company would stop selling these products.
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