Apple has been ordered to reinstate the blockbuster online game Fortnite in a court decision hailed as a huge victory for players and developers.
But the tech giant says it will seek to delay and eventually overturn the decision, rejecting the Australian Federal Court of Australia's market definition.
Developer Epic Games succeeded in key aspects of its lawsuits against Apple and Google in August 2025 when a Federal Court found the tech giants had engaged in anticompetitive conduct.
In a 2000-page ruling, Justice Jonathan Beach found the companies had abused their market power to reduce competition but rejected claims they had engaged in unconscionable conduct or breached consumer law.
On Thursday, he ordered Apple to do everything necessary to readmit Fortnite and other applications developed by Epic to its app store in Australia.
Apple must also allow Australian iOS users to directly download apps or access them from alternative app stores, provided certain security checks are completed.
Fortnite was evicted from the app stores run by Apple and Google in 2020 after it introduced a direct payment system which bypassed the commission the tech titans demanded.
Epic Games chief executive Tim Sweeney hailed the antitrust remedies ordered by the court as “a huge victory for consumers and developers” in a statement on X.
In another social media post, Epic said their wildly popular online game would be back in Australia by Friday.
But the celebrations may be premature as Apple warned it would lodge an appeal against the decision.
“We respectfully disagree with many findings in this case, including a market definition that has been rejected by other courts,” a spokesperson told AAP.
“We will request a stay and appeal the outcome to seek a resolution that respects our intellectual property and protects the safe, secure experience that consumers and developers expect from the App Store.”
The tech giant maintains it doesn't have a monopoly position in Australia or in any country.
Justice Beach's directive specifies that Apple must act once it has received a written request from Epic.
Other remedies include that Apple device users be allowed to download apps from third-party app stores and developers be permitted to use alternative payment systems.
The sweeping changes to the app store are required to be implemented by March 2027 but no date was set for the reinstallment of Fortnite, which itself is subject to compliance with app store guidelines.
There were no orders made in relation to Google on Thursday.
Epic won a separate US case against Google in 2023 after a jury found it had engaged in anti-trust conduct through the Google Play Store.
It was less successful in its case against Apple, although the court found the tech giant had engaged in anti-competitive conduct.
Apple has also been forced to implement changes to its App Store in Europe, including allowing third-party payment systems.
