Apple (AAPL) may have lost a court case to Epic Games, but that doesn’t mean it plans to allow the video game developer’s popular battle royale title Fortnite back into the iOS App Store. The official Fortnite X, formerly Twitter, account confirmed as much, noting that, “Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union.”
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According to the Fortnite X post, “Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it.” This may have also caused a delay for Fortnite players outside of iOS. The current season of the online game features a Star Wars crossover, with a special mini battle pass for General Grievous that was set to release yesterday. However, it was pushed back to today without explanation.
Tim Sweeney, founder and CEO of Epic Games, took to X to comment on the matter. He criticized Apple, stating that its app reviewers should be free to deny or approve apps without senior management meddling and weaponizing the process.
Apple & Epic Games Court Battle
Following a court ruling in Epic Games’ favor last month, Fortnite was expected to return to the iOS App Store, which it has been absent from for roughly five years. Sweeney even said as much after the company won its case against Apple. While the iPhone maker initially said it would comply with a court order related to the case, it has since asked the court to pause the ruling, extending the legal battle.
Is AAPL Stock a Buy, Hold, or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Apple is Moderate Buy, based on 17 Buy, eight Hold, and four Sell ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average AAPL stock price target of $228.65, representing a potential 8.13% upside for the shares.
