Apple Asked by Epic Games to Allow Fortnite's Re-Release in South Korea Following Passage of New Law

Fortnite creator Epic Games has asked iPhone maker Apple to restore its Fortnite developer account and intends to re-release the popular game on iOS in South Korea, offering both Epic and Apple payment side-by-side, it said in a tweet.

"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," it said.

Legal experts and developers around the world are awaiting a decision in an antitrust case Epic has filed against Apple in a US court.

Epic filed the case last year after it implemented its own in-app payment system in Fortnite to avoid Apple's commissions. Apple told Epic that the move had violated its rules and kicked the game off the App Store.

Last week, South Korea's parliament approved a bill that bans major app store operators, including Apple, from forcing software developers to use their payment systems, effectively stopping them from charging commissions on in-app purchases.

Two days later, Apple said it would let some apps like Netflix provide links to their websites for user payments.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

© Thomson Reuters 2021