Battle for Fortnite: Judge demands Apple to explain why the game is still blocked on iOS

The Epic vs Apple saga continues to gain momentum, and this time, a US court is taking the stage. The US District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers demands Apple to explain why Fortnite is still blocked on iOS devices, despite previous court decisions allowing its return to the App Store.

Here's What We Know

According to the court order, Apple has to file a response by 21 May, explaining why "Apple believes it can ignore this Court's order without obtaining a stay from the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit". If the company fails to respond by 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on that date, it will be scheduled for a hearing on 27 May at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, where "an Apple official personally responsible for ensuring compliance must appear in person".

On 16 May, Fortnite's official social media account announced that Apple had blocked the latest developer submission, preventing the game from being released in the US App Store and the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. This meant that Fortnite would be "offline worldwide" on iOS until Apple unblocked it.

In response to a question about Apple's rejection of the filing, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said that the company did not "accept or reject" the filing explicitly.

"They just said they were going to ignore it until the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules on their request for a stay, which will be in late May or June," he said.

Source: @TimSweeneyEpic