Apple players will lose Fortnite cross-play starting today

The fallout of Epic’s legal tussle with Apple is now hitting the remaining Fortnite players on iOS devices. A report by The Verge now confirms that Fortnite gamers on Apple’s ecosystem will not roll-over to the game’s new season, Chapter 2 – Season 4, nor will they be able to play against gamers on other systems.

While PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Switch, and Android gamers will gain access to the new season and new patch (version 14.00), which usually brings with it new cosmetics, maps, and bug fixes, Apple players will remain stuck on the current patch (version 13.40) and the current season. This also means cross-play between Apple and Fortnite’s other platforms will be disabled.

Considering that Fortnite is distributed via the Epic Games Store on MacOS, you’d expect the update to be available on this particular platform. Epic has confirmed that even these gamers on MacBooks and Macs won’t receive the new update.

It should be said that this won’t kill Fortnite multiplayer for those on Apple devices. If you play on an iPhone and your friends play on another iOS device, you’ll still be able to game together, but you won’t find gamers from any other systems in your lobbies.

Fortnite cross-play guide: Play with (almost) everyone

Whether you’re bemoaning the lack of new content or death of cross-play, Apple believes that this is Epic’s issue to fix. The iPhone maker said it would welcome back the Fortnite developer with open arms if it conforms to Apple’s terms. If Epic Games taps out, it would allow the studio to relist Fortnite on the App Store and issue updates as required. There’s little chance, it seems, that Epic would be willing to do this though.

Epic’s concerned with toppling Apple’s App Store “monopoly.” It attempted to do just this by skirting Apple’s 30% developer tax, offering direct purchases within the game itself. In response, Apple removed the game from the App Store, kicking off a weeks-long legal battle with no solution in sight.

At present, Fortnite remains booted from the App Store, and if you are lucky enough to reinstall Fortnite on your iOS device or pick up a $10,000 iPhone with Fortnite pre-installed, you can still enjoy the game. Just not quite the same game others are enjoying right now.