Fortnite maker Epic plays David to Apple's Goliath in App Store showdown

Games firm launches perfectly stage-managed attack just as tech giants' detente is fracturing

In Fortnite, the astronomically successful video game from Epic Games, 100 players skydive on to an island and enter into one-on-one combat until only the winner is left standing.

The formula has bestowed the game with once-in-a-generation success: it has more players than Twitter has users, it has minted its own millionaire celebrities, and it has turned Epic, formerly an also-ran provider of development tools, into one of the most successful companies in gaming.