Epic court docs reveal Fortnite earns by far its most money on PlayStation, not iOS

Court documents have revealed that iOS generated just seven percent of Fortnite’s total revenue between March 2018 and July 2020.

The documents, which were published ahead of the start of the Epic Games v. Apple trial on May 3, reveal that the largest share of revenue was generated by the PS4 version of Fortnite in the 17 months prior to the iOS version’s delisting from the App Store last year.

Epic’s antitrust lawsuit against the iPhone maker began in August 2020 after the Fortnite firm moved to circumvent Apple’s platform fees with a new direct payment option, leading to the game’s removal from the App Store.

Court documents spotted by The Verge show that PS4 generated 46.8 percent of Fortnite’s total revenue in the 17 months to July 2020, followed by Xbox One with 27.5 percent.

iOS placed fifth with just seven percent of total revenue, with the remaining 18.7 percent split between Android, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Further reading

Tim Cook and Tim Sweeney will testify at the Epic Games v. Apple trial

Witnesses will also include Xbox business development VP Lori Wright

In 2020, iOS revenues were expected to account for just 5.8 percent of the total, versus 24 percent for Xbox One and almost 40 percent for PS4.

That’s according to a deposition of Epic programmer David Nikdel, who said iOS was always the lowest or second lowest money maker if Android was included.

It was previously revealed that the iOS version of Fortnite generated over $700 million from customers in the two years prior to its removal from the App Store.

While clearly not a sum to sniffed at, the relatively low earnings from Fortnite on iOS may make it easier to understand Epic’s willingness to take on Apple in court – and its desire to earn a bigger share from the mobile version of its hit game.

Epic has called the 30 percent payment fees charged by Apple exorbitant and excessive compared to its operating costs.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney and Apple CEO Tim Cook are among the witnesses expected to testify at the Epic v. Apple trial. The in-person bench trial is expected to last for approximately three weeks.