Fortnite is available on many different platforms. But in recent years, the colorful shooter has had problems with its mobile version, and now they’re getting worse.
Mobile and Fortnite: It was a real success story for a while. But then came the problems.
Basically it’s about money. Apple’s and Google’s mobile stores are squeezing off part of the sales, Fortnite developer Epic Games wanted exceptions, didn’t get them and took the game out of the shops. They even brought nasty Apple skins into play.
Since then, the current version of Fortnite can only be played on mobile via detours. Or you had the game on your cell phone back then and still use the app today. However, this app remained as of August 2020 and patch 13.40.
Exactly this version is now on the collar. According to Epic, this is due to the strict specifications of Apple and Google.
In 2019, a mother took her 15-year-old son out of school for Fortnite. Here’s a video of what happened to the boy:
Fortnite: No more V-Bucks for mobile players
What will be different with the mobile version? The old Fortnite version will become an adult game. In addition, it will not be possible to spend the in-game currency “V-Bucks” on the old mobile versions. By the way, the restrictions also apply to the old Mac version.
This could be related to a ruling by the US Federal Trade Commission. They sentenced developer Epic Games to a record fine in December 2022 because Fortnite allegedly violated children’s privacy.
Fortnite itself has commented on Twitter about the new restrictions of the mobile version as follows:
Tweet translation: “Starting January 30, Fortnite players running August 2020 version 13.40 on iOS, Mac and Google Play will no longer be able to spend V-Bucks and must be over 18 to play. We want all versions of our games to use the latest suite of Epic Online Services – including parental controls, purchase preferences, and parental verification features. Due to Apple and Google restrictions on Fortnite, we are unable to update the app on those platforms.”
The whole situation surrounding the old Fortnite version is strange. Now an 18+ 2 year old version of the shooter adds another chapter to the battle of Epic vs. Mobile.
Fortnite really shook up the gaming market when it was released in 2017 and is still one of the most successful games in the world today. The developers always manage to score with fresh updates and ideas, to retain old players and to find new players.
And the stories about the colorful shooter are sometimes really exciting: Ninja became huge on Twitch through Fortnite, wanted to become David Beckham of gaming – what became of him?