UK passes Bill which could force Apple to allow Fortnite and an Epic Games Store app on iOS

23.05.2024 - 18:57 / videogameschronicle.com / Tim Sweeney / Chris Scullion / Ios

The UK has passed a Bill which could force Apple to allow sideloading of non-App Store apps, including games like Fortnite and new app stores, on UK-owned iOS devices.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Bill was introduced in April 2023 and seeks to “provide for the regulation of competition in digital markets”.

With the UK now set to have a General Election on July 4, Parliament is set to be dissolved on May 30, at which point any unfinished business will be lost, because public Bills can’t be carried over from one Parliament to the next.

As such, numerous Bills are now going through the “wash-up period”, in which the Government and opposition work together and agree on which bills should be rushed through their remaining stages, so they can be approved before dissolution.

The DMCC Bill was one of these, and has now been passed by Parliament, according to the Press Gazette.

While the consequences of the Bill will have an effect on numerous industries, in terms of video games it will be good news for Epic Games and Microsoft, who have been engaged in a battle for the right to add their own apps and app stores to iOS devices.

Parts of the UK Bill are similar to the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which was sworn into EU law and went into effect in March, forcing companies such as Apple to allow users to sideload third-party apps and app stores to their iOS devices.

Epic said in January that it would be bringing Fortnite back to iOS devices in the EU via a new Epic Games Store app thanks to the DMA, but claimed that Apple was still “breaking the law” by adding new fees for alternative app stores.

The passing of the DMCC Bill would theoretically mean that Epic could do in the UK what it plans to do in the rest of the EU, meaning UK iOS users may get access to Fortnite at some point.

While Epic Games has yet to comment on the Bill’s passing at the time of writing, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney retweeted an X post by Open Web Advocacy celebrating the news.

“The UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill has been passed by the Parliament,” the post reads.

“This gives the UK regulator the tools they need to fight anti-competitive conduct from the gatekeepers. Thanks to all those that made it happen.”