Epic is holding a Fortnite event themed around its Apple lawsuit

Epic is holding an in-game Fortnite event themed around its legal dispute with Apple.

The #FreeFornite Cup will celebrate “one more Victory Royale with friends across all platforms” this Sunday, August 23, with prizes including an outfit for Tart Tycoon, a character featured in a parody of Apple’s 1984 ad.

Top scoring players across regions (20,000 globally) will receive a real #FreeFortnite hat, which is clearly themed on Apple’s classic logo.

Last week Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store, following Epic’s move to circumvent its fees with a new direct payment option. In retaliation, Epic filed a lawsuit and called on its fans to support the move.

“These are the final days of the entire Fortnite community’s ability to play together,” Epic said on its website. “Apple has blocked Fortnite from the App Store, preventing players from updating to new versions.

“Players on iOS devices will be left behind on Chapter 2 – Season 3 while everyone else jumps into the Chapter 2 – Season 4 launch on August 27.”

It added: “If you’re left behind on iOS after the Chapter 2 – Season 4 launch, the party continues on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, GeForce Now, and through both the Epic Games App at epicgames.com and the Samsung Galaxy Store. Join the fight against @AppStore on social with #FreeFortnite.”

In a Tweet posted later on Friday, Epic announced that Fortnite’s upcoming Chapter 2 – Season 4 would be themed on Marvel superheroes. As things stand, iOS owners will not receive the update.

Epic’s battle with Apple escalated with the filing of a temporary restraining order this week, which was Epic’s attempt to stop the iOS firm from removing its developer access, including support for Unreal Engine.

The Fortnite maker claimed on Monday that Apple had informed it that as of Friday, August 28 Epic’s developer accounts and iOS and Mac development tools would be cut off.

This would prevent Epic from creating software for Apple’s platforms, Epic claimed, including for the Unreal Engine middleware it offers to third-party developers.

Epic said that it had requested a temporary restraining order in an attempt to stop the action and relist Fortnite on the App Store.

“Not content simply to remove Fortnite from the App Store, Apple is attacking Epic’s entire business in unrelated areas,” Epic said in its legal documents.

“Left unchecked, Apple’s actions will irreparably damage Epic’s reputation among Fortnite users and be catastrophic for the future of the separate Unreal Engine business,” it added.

“If the Unreal Engine can no longer support Apple platforms, the software developers that use it will be forced to use alternatives. The damage to Epic’s ongoing business and to its reputation and trust with its customers will be unquantifiable and irreparable.”

Google also removed Fortnite from its Play Store this month, which was met by similar legal action from Epic.