Fortnite wants Apple to let it back on the App Store.
The company has sent out a tweet today announcing that it has asked Apple to restore the company’s developer account so that it can re-release the popular game on the Korean App Store. The company says that it plans to offer both its own and Apple’s in-app purchasing system for its customers.
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 is making the request after the South Korean government passed a new law that requires app stores like Apple and Google to allow third-party payment processing systems in addition to their own.
The law is an amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act that will prevent Apple and Google from requiring that developers use their own in-app payment methods on places like the iOS App Store and Google Play. The law also has provisions for preventing unreasonable delay to approval of apps or deleting them from the marketplace so as to prevent retalation. Failure to comply could mean massive fines for Apple, up to 3% of the company’s total revenue in the country.
The change is enormous and bills of similar consequence are popping up around the world. With its latest request, Epic is attempting to take advantage of the new law as soon as possible.