Epic Games has announced its updated strategy for mobile gaming. Fortnite will return to the iOS store in the European Union, while the Epic Games Store will be available again on Android worldwide and on iOS in the European Union. The new terms involve a 12% store fee for transactions made through Epic Games and a 0% fee for third-party payments.
Moreover, Epic Games stated that they will be “ending distribution partnerships with mobile stores that serve as without competing robustly and serving all developers fairly, even if those stores offer us a special deal for our games.” This decision, which is a response to the situation with Apple and Google, paves the way for Fortnite and more of their mobile games to be available in new mobile stores.
Epic Games expanded, stating they have “long been advocating for the rights of stores to exist and compete fairly on iOS and Android, and progress is spreading across the globe, in the form of Europe’s DMA, similar laws in the UK and Japan, regulatory investigations around the world, and victory in the Epic v Google litigation in the US”. Epic wants to take advantage of this opportunity to bring “developers a great deal” through their store and also support other stores.
Epic Games Arrives on AltStore
Epic Games is bringing its mobile games to AltStore on iOS in the EU as part of its strategic expansion. This is just the beginning, with support for at least two other third-party stores to arrive soon. AltStore is a trusted app store designed to side-load mobile apps on iOS.
Finally, Epic Games announced that Fortnite and its other mobile titles will no longer be available on the Samsung Galaxy Store. This decision is in response to “Samsung’s anticompetitive move to block side-loading by default on Samsung Android devices.”
In other news, Epic Games recently claimed that Apple was stalling the store launch over button similarities. They also recently acknowledged the presence of ‘pay-to-win’ car skins in Fortnite. What are your views on Epic Games’ new strategy for mobile gaming? Let us know in the comments.