Fortnite ban: Will Apple's decision affect PUBG Mobile that runs on Epic's Unreal Engine?

Although Fortnite ban is one of the major concerns for iOS and macOS gamers, a bigger point of concern is what happens to ever so famous PUBG Mobile? Here's an answer.

PUBG (Unsplash)

A few hours ago Apple announced that it has terminated the developer accounts of Epic Games following a court order. This was done amidst the lawsuit. And while Fortnite was already out of App Store ever since Epic violated the guidelines, the court order now means those who already have the game on their iOS or macOS devices, they won't get any more updates, which means no Season 4, no improvements and no bug fixes. Although Fortnite ban is one of the major concerns for iOS and macOS gamers, a bigger point of concern is what happens to ever so famous PUBG Mobile?

Yes, due to the Fortnite ban, PUBG Mobile comes in the limelight as well. That's because PUBG has an ‘Epic' connection with, well, Epic. The game runs on Unreal Engine, which indeed is made by Epic. So, does that mean PUBG Mobile will get the same treatment as Fortnite?

Short answer - no.

Long answer - PUBG Mobile, although running on Epic's Unreal Engine, is a completely different title that has its own in-app payments that (for now) is not violating App Store guidelines. Any purchase made in PUBG Mobile, goes through Apple's App Store. So all is well and good for now. This means PUBG Mobile is going nowhere and players will continue receiving bug fixes and updates.

Apple's App Store in fact confirmed this by tweeting about PUBG Mobile and the upcoming Erangel Map 2.0.

While waiting for Apple to #FreeFortnite on iOS and Mac, here's another awesome battle royale game powered by Unreal Engine! https://t.co/IZJL1YYUtv

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) August 28, 2020

As for the ban, Sweeney says that Epic Games submitted three builds of Fortnite. While two of them included bug fixes, the third one was the Season 4 update with a note. The note clearly mentioned that Fortnite build v14.0 was uploaded through the App Store Connect and the particular build offers customers in-app purchases through either Apple's payment solution or through Epic direct payment. “Epic is submitting this version in case Apple wishes to restore Fortnite to the App Store in time for Season 4 launch.”