Epic Games announced the launch of a digital store for Android and iOS devices following the introduction of new EU regulations. The American video game publisher also announced the imminent exit of prominent games such as Fortnite on the Samsung Galaxy Store.
According to the announcement dated July 25th, the exit is part of the company’s initiative to boycott Samsung’s new blocking side-loading policy, which prevents users from installing competing stores.
New EU regulations under the Digital Markets Act have paved the way for Epic Games to launch the Epic Games Store, a digital store for mobile devices. Before the store’s official debut, Epic Games announced the removal of prominent games from “rent collector” stores that fail to compete widely and serve all developers fairly.
The announcement detailed that Epic Games will introduce Fortnite to stores that offer developers better deals. One such store mentioned in the announcement is the indie-focused Altstore, as well as two other third-party stores.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney comments on Epic’s new reforms
We've announced our new strategy for bringing Epic's games to mobile stores: not only the soon-to-launch Epic Games Store for mobile, but also other independent mobile stores that give all developers a fair deal, including https://t.co/wX14FI47KZ.https://t.co/mp3lq3fFbc
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) July 25, 2024
Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney also announced that the game developer was restructuring on a new trajectory that will oversee the company’s shift to debut its first mobile store. Sweeney mentioned that the company will launch the Epic Game Store for mobile devices powered by Android and iOS operating systems.
According to Sweeney, the store will offer developers more competitive terms than the current market-leading app stores. These terms will include a 12% store fee, which is lower than what traditional app stores offer developers, and a 0% fee for those capitalizing on third-party payment channels.
Tim also mentioned that the company fought and won against Google in the US Epic v. Google antitrust trial that addressed a similar issue to Samsung’s block side-loading policy.
Epic Games wages legal battles against Apple
In 2020, Apple suspended Epic’s Fortnite developer account, hindering the game’s distribution on iOS devices. Since then, Epic Games has waged a series of legal battles against Apple in a desperate attempt to return its games to iOS. These legal battles have seemingly hit a brick wall as courts have predominantly ruled in favor of Apple.
In 2021, a judge ruled against Epic and in favor of Apple on nine of Epic’s ten claims. According to court filings, Epic lacked sufficient evidence that Apple held a monopoly that violated antitrust regulations. However, the EU’s new Digital Markets Act hints at Fortnite’s return to iOS in the EU region.
The Epic Games Store is scheduled for official debut on Android and iOS devices later this year. With the legal proceedings still underway in the U.S., the store will only be available for iOS users in the EU region. However, Android users can access the store anywhere in the world. Epic Games also made a separate announcement in May that speculated the re-introduction of Fortnite on iOS devices in the United Kingdom in 2025.
