Roblox and Fortnite are two of the biggest games around, and a huge part of why is because they aren't just one game: instead, they're vast platforms where you can party up with your friends, dress up in ridiculous digital outfits, and quickly jump from one experience to another. Back in the day, Fortnite copied PUBG by making a battle royale, and now, PUBG is mimicking Fortnite by trying to become more of a platform than a game.
As part of a roadmap released earlier this year, PUBG developer Krafton said that it would let players create their own modes as part of an alpha, and it revealed more details about the alpha this month. This week, …
After being unceremoniously booted off Apple’s App Store in 2020, Epic Games’ Fortnite is finally back. Take note, though — it’ll only show up on iPhones and iPads for searches made within the U.S., at least for now. The return of Fortnite marks the end of a nearly five-year ban caused by Epic Games’ implementation […]
For a short period of time on Friday, Darth Vader could drop F-bombs in the video game Fortnite as part of a voice AI implementation gone wrong, reports GameSpot. Epic Games rapidly deployed a hotfix after players encountered the Sith Lord responding to their comments with profanity and strong language.
In Fortnite, the AI-voiced Vader appears as both a boss in battle royale mode and an interactive character. The official Star Wars website encourages players to "ask him all your pressing questions about the Force, the Galactic Empire… or you know, a good strat for the last Storm circle," adding that "the Sith Lord has opinions."
The F-bomb incident involved a Twitch streamer named Loserfruit, who triggered the forceful response when discussing food with the virtual Vader. The Dark Lord of the Sith responded by repeating her words "freaking" and "fucking" before adding, "Such vulgarity does not become you, Padme." The exchange spread virally across social media platforms on Friday.
Fortnite is no longer available from the iOS Epic Games Store in the EU.
Fortnite maker Epic Games has announced that Apple has blocked the game’s return to iOS. Following the rejection, Fortnite is no longer available on iPhones and iPads even in the European Union, where it had previously been available to download through the Epic Games Store.
“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,” the company posted on the official Fortnite X account. “Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it.”
The Verge has confirmed that the game is no longer available to download on iOS from the Epic Games Store or the alternative marketplace AltStore PAL in the EU, where it had previously been available.
However, according to Apple, that isn’t its doing.
“We asked that Epic Sweden resubmit the app update without including the US storefront of the App Store so as not to impact Fortnite in other geographies,” Apple spokesperson Olivia Dalton tells The Verge. “We did not take any action to remove the live version of Fortnite from alternative distribution marketplaces.”
This week Epic CEO Tim Sweeney announced that the company had pulled its previous Fortnite submission and submitted a new version that included an update due to release today, noting that “all platforms must update simultaneously.” He’s since taken to X repeatedly to complain that unofficial Fortnite knock-offs have been allowed into the App Store while Fortnite hasn’t, claiming that Apple’s app review process has been “weaponized by senior management.”
Epic Games claims that Apple is blocking its Fortnite app from the U.S. and EU App Stores. After winning a decisive victory for app developers in a legal battle with Apple, forcing the tech giant to allow external payments in its U.S. App Store without charging commission, Epic Games attempted to resubmit Fortnite to the […]
Many horses, including Spotify and Amazon's Kindle Store, have already left the barn. But Apple is moving quickly to shut the external payments door opened by last week's ruling that the company willfully failed to comply with court orders regarding anticompetitive behavior.
In an emergency motion filing late Wednesday (PDF), Apple described US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers' "extraordinary Order" as including an injunction that "permanently precludes Apple from exercising control over core aspects of its business operations, including charging for use of its property and protecting the integrity of its platform and in-app purchase mechanism." A certificate (PDF) accompanying the emergency filing states that the order "fundamentally changes Apple's business and creates destabilizing effects" for App Store customers.
The restrictions, "which will cost Apple substantial sums annually," are not based on the company's conduct, Apple claims, but "were imposed to punish Apple for purported non-compliance" with the 2021 injunction. In her ruling (PDF), Gonzalez Rogers described Apple as conducting an "obvious cover-up" and said that Apple "at every turn chose the most anticompetitive option."
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