Fortnite is now back on iOS, but only in the EU. Epic has launched its games store on iOS (EU only) and Android. It currently only has three games, but Epic is working on bringing developers into its store. Fortnite was pulled from the Apple App Store four years ago, resulting in a legal battle that loosened Apple's grip on its platform but kept the status quo for the most part.

Epic launched its iOS store in the EU last week thanks to new regulations opening up the platform. It's not clear whether Epic will be able to grow the store far beyond its own games. While Epic's game store may offer better terms for developers, every developer is still subject to fees from Apple. Epic is in active discussions with almost every one of the top 250 mobile developers about putting their apps on the Epic Games Store for mobile, but almost all of them have said they can't make it work on iOS.

Epic Games is launching Fab.com, a unified marketplace combining Unreal Engine Marketplace, Sketchfab Store, Quixel, and ArtStation Marketplace, in mid-October. Fab will support multiple game engines, including Unreal Engine and Unity, offering creators a platform to buy, sell, and share various assets with an 88/12 revenue split.

Epic Games has initiated a new antitrust lawsuit against Google and Samsung, alleging that the two companies are colluding to suppress competition from third-party app stores. This lawsuit follows Epic's previous legal victory against Google, where a jury found that Google maintained an illegal monopoly over app distribution on its platform. The core of the current lawsuit centers around Samsung's "Auto Blocker" feature, which is enabled by default on new Samsung devices. This feature restricts users from installing apps unless they come from "authorized sources," which Epic claims effectively limits installations to Google and Samsung's own app stores. Epic argues that there is no clear process for other app stores to gain this "authorized" status, thereby stifling competition. Epic's CEO, Tim Sweeney, contends that the Auto Blocker is not genuinely designed to protect users from malware, as it does not assess the safety of apps before blocking installations. Instead, he argues that it is a tool to prevent competition. Sweeney has expressed concerns about the difficulty users face in disabling the Auto Blocker, claiming it requires an unnecessarily complicated process that discourages users from installing alternative app stores. In response, Samsung and Google have denied any collusion regarding the Auto Blocker feature. Google has stated that it did not request Samsung to create this feature, emphasizing that Android allows for sideloading apps and that device manufacturers are free to implement their own safety measures. Samsung has also defended the Auto Blocker, asserting that it is designed to enhance user security and that users can easily disable it during the initial setup of their devices. Epic's lawsuit seeks a jury trial, and the outcome may be influenced by ongoing legal proceedings from its previous case against Google. The company aims to prevent what it perceives as a "malicious compliance strategy" from Google and its partners, which could further hinder competition in the app distribution market. As the legal battle unfolds, Epic remains vigilant about potential barriers to third-party app stores, with Sweeney indicating that they are closely monitoring the situation.