San Francisco, Jan 3 (IANS): Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has hinted at a return of the Fortnite game to iOS in 2023, almost three years after the best-selling game was taken down from the App Store for breaking platform guidelines.

In a tweet to celebrate the new year, Sweeney wrote, "Next year on iOS!", which was then followed by a picture of a Fortnite character looking up at fireworks that spell out 2023, reports MacRumors.

After Epic Games included a direct payment option in Fortnite that circumvented Apple's in-app purchasing system and broke App Store guidelines, the game was removed from the App Store in August 2020.

The iPhone maker ultimately banned Fortnite from the App Store, placing the blame directly on Epic for violating its rules.

"Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users. As a result their Fortnite app has been removed from the store," Apple had said in a statement.

"Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple," it added.

Fortnite removal from the App Store led Epic Games to file a lawsuit against the tech giant.

"Three years later, both Epic Games and Apple are now appealing a court decision made in September 2021 that would have required Apple to allow developers to add in-app links to outside websites," the report said.