The quarrel between Epic Games and Apple is the latest turn in a long-standing dispute over who should earn money from customers. The game company has long demanded to be able to bypass Apple's online store to avoid the 30-percent fees the tech company takes out as an intermediary.
Even Swedish Spotify has taken Apple to court for the same reason.
A few weeks ago, a court in California gave Epic Games the right. Apple must permit links to external payment systems in apps. Similar, but even stricter rules have been in effect in the EU since last year.
Epic Games is now accusing Apple of delaying the implementation of the court's decision. The company has sent a new version of the game to Apple, but has not yet received approval. Therefore, they have taken down the game, which cannot be used online with Apple's operating system IOS for now.
"Unfortunately, the IOS version of 'Fortnite' will be down worldwide until Apple stops blocking it", writes Epic Games on social media.
Fortnite is one of the world's most popular games with over 110 million users per month. It is available on a range of different platforms, such as Playstation and Xbox, but it is unclear how many play it on Apple's operating system.
