Epic Games is bringing its storefront and Fortnite to Japan in 2025.
Epic revealed the news on Twitter, attributing its arrival to a new law recently passed by Japanese parliament. Per Apple Insider, it’s similar to the recently enacted European Union law, a ruling that established the right of third-party app stores to exist on Apple Japan’s App Store.
The bill was proposed in June 2023, but won’t take effect until late 2025. Both Apple and Google will be required to let users download third-party app stores and alternate payment systems.
Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic, called both bills part of a “new free world, from the point of view of app developers and users.”
Epic gets another iOS win, but it’s not done with Apple yet
Getting back on Apple’s platform has been a lengthy, eventful process for Epic. Following the years-long legal battle between the two companies, Europe’s Digital Markets Act enabled Fortnite to come back on that country’s iOS storefront.
This past March, Apple retaliated by briefly shutting down Epic’s European iOS account, which Epic immediately deemed in “serious violation” of the DMA’s rules. The account was reinstated the following day, and Apple’s made no moves since.
But the two companies continue to be at each other’s throat. In the same post celebrating Fortnite and the Epic Store coming to Japan, Sweeney said the US was “still locked behind Apple’s Iron Curtain.”