On May 9, 2025, Epic Games and Spotify submitted updated iPhone and iPad apps for Apple’s review, putting newly relaxed U.S. App Store payment and linking rules to a real-world test. Epic aimed to bring Fortnite back to the U.S. storefront; Spotify wanted to sell audiobooks and extra listening time more directly. The submissions showed what developers might try under the new policy—but did not prove that Apple had approved either update or that the features were live.
What Epic Games submitted
Epic submitted a new Fortnite build to Apple’s U.S. App Review process. Its objective was a possible return to the App Store after Apple removed Fortnite in 2020, when Epic added a direct-payment option that bypassed Apple’s in-app-purchase system.
The submission came after Apple changed its U.S. rules in response to the continuing Epic Games v. Apple dispute. It was an attempt to use the newly permitted ability to direct customers toward purchases outside Apple’s billing system, not confirmation that Fortnite had already returned.
Contemporary reporting on the submission is available from TechCrunch.
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What Spotify wanted to change
Spotify submitted an update designed to let users buy individual audiobooks directly and allow Premium subscribers to purchase additional audiobook listening hours after using their monthly allowance. The company had already updated its U.S. app to provide more information about subscription pricing.
The strategy was to communicate prices and use Spotify’s own commerce infrastructure instead of relying entirely on Apple’s payment flow. That commercial goal is different from Fortnite’s attempted comeback, even though both submissions tested the same U.S. policy opening.
Why Apple changed the rules
Epic’s lawsuit challenged Apple’s restrictions on steering customers to outside payment options. Apple won most of Epic’s broader claims, but Epic secured a significant ruling concerning anti-steering conduct. A later contempt proceeding addressed whether Apple’s implementation complied with the court’s injunction.
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Apple’s May 1, 2025 announcement revised App Review Guidelines 3.1.1, 3.1.1(a), 3.1.3 and 3.1.3(a) for apps distributed through the U.S. storefront. The change followed the court’s finding that Apple’s earlier approach had not complied with the injunction. Apple’s own account of the historical restrictions appears in its 2026 Supreme Court filing.
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What changed in the U.S. App Store
| Issue | Before the May 2025 change | After the change |
|---|---|---|
| Links to outside purchase pages | Generally required Apple permission and had presentation restrictions, including warnings. | U.S.-storefront apps gained broader freedom to use links, buttons and other calls to action. |
| Price communication | More constrained by anti-steering rules. | Developers could communicate external purchasing options more freely in the United States. |
| App Review | Applied. | Still applied; a policy change did not guarantee approval. |
| Apple billing | Available where required or chosen. | Still available; the rule change did not eliminate Apple’s payment system. |
| Global effect | Regional rules already differed. | Still regional, not a worldwide App Store reform. |
Apple’s May 1 announcement is at Apple Developer. The current guidelines, updated June 8, 2026, say U.S.-storefront apps do not need an entitlement to include buttons or external links directing customers to alternative digital-purchase mechanisms: App Review Guidelines.
What users could gain—and what changes when billing moves outside Apple
Possible benefits
- Prices and purchase choices may be visible inside the app.
- Users may reach the developer’s website directly.
- Developers could offer promotions or lower prices if they pass on some avoided platform costs.
- Fortnite players and Spotify customers could have more ways to buy digital goods.
Practical trade-offs
- Payment details may be entered with the developer or another processor.
- Subscriptions bought externally may not appear in Apple’s usual subscription-management screen.
- Refunds and support generally move to the developer or its payment provider.
- Users may need another account or login and must distinguish Apple-billed and externally billed subscriptions.
External checkout is not automatically cheaper or unsafe. It changes who operates the transaction and which support, refund and account systems apply. Apple documents regional external-purchase arrangements at StoreKit external purchase.
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What developers stood to gain—and still had to do
- More control over prices, promotions and customer communications.
- Potentially lower payment or platform costs.
- Use of existing web-commerce, tax, fraud and subscription systems.
- A direct customer relationship rather than exclusive dependence on Apple billing.
Those benefits come with operational work: payment processing, fraud prevention, taxes, refunds, customer service and compliance. App Review, privacy, security and consumer-protection obligations remained. Apple’s guidelines still require in-app purchase for many digital goods unless a relevant exception or regional rule applies.
Why the United States is not the whole App Store
The May 2025 change applied to the U.S. storefront. Apple maintains separate systems for Europe and other markets. In the European Economic Area, eligible music-streaming apps such as Spotify can request Apple’s Music Streaming Services Entitlement, but they must meet eligibility conditions, use the required implementation and pass review. That entitlement is not a general permission for every app to use external payments.
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What the May 9 submissions did—and did not—establish
- Established: Epic and Spotify submitted updates for Apple review on May 9, 2025, seeking external-purchase or pricing functionality.
- Not established by the report: Apple’s approval of either update, the date of any rollout, or the exact experience available to all U.S. users.
- Not changed: Apple’s App Review authority, its broader App Store control, and regional differences.
- Not guaranteed: lower consumer prices, elimination of all Apple fees, or a worldwide right to use alternative payment processing.
Where the dispute stood by 2026
As of August 18, 2026, the 2025 submissions are best understood as a milestone in an ongoing policy and legal fight, not as proof that Apple abandoned App Store control. Apple’s guidelines continued to evolve, while its 2026 Supreme Court petition showed that the scope and implementation of the external-link injunction remained contested. The reviewed filing does not establish the appeal’s final outcome or the long-term status of the specific Fortnite and Spotify submissions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Apple approve Fortnite’s return to the U.S. App Store on May 9, 2025?
The reported event was an App Review submission. The available report does not establish approval or a live U.S. rollout.
Does the U.S. rule let every app process payments however it wants?
No. It broadened the ability of U.S.-storefront apps to use links and calls to action for alternative purchases, while App Review, applicable exceptions and regional rules still apply.
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Will buying outside Apple automatically cost less?
Not necessarily. Avoided platform costs create room for savings, but developers decide whether and how much to pass on.
The Bottom Line
The significance of May 9, 2025 was that Epic and Spotify could test a more permissive U.S. App Store rulebook in actual submissions. It was not proof that Fortnite was approved, that Spotify’s changes were live, or that Apple’s global payment system had ended.
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