The most influential video game of the decade is getting its Android release on the Google Play Store. The battle royale game was just published on the store for the first time as a direct download from developer Epic Games, writes Gadgets Africa.
In a statement, Epic Games says they have come to a basic realization.
“Google puts software downloadable outside of Google Play at a disadvantage, through technical and business measures such as scary, repetitive security pop-ups for downloaded and updated software, restrictive manufacturer and carrier agreements and dealings, Google public relations characterizing third-party software sources as malware, and new efforts such as Google Play Protect to outright block software obtained outside the Google Play store.”
“Because of this, we’ve launched Fortnite for Android on the Google Play Store. We’ll continue to operate the Epic Games App and Fortnite outside of Google Play, too,” the statement concludes.
Epic vs. Google
For many months prior to this announcement, Epic and Google had been embroiled in a war of attrition. The Verge reported that Google publicly rebuffed Epic over its reported attempt to launch Fortnite on the Play Store without paying Google’s standard 30% fee.
Google says the Android platform is dependent on the existing Play Store terms because that is how the company is able to reinvest in its platform to help it grow and to provide ample security measures.
“Android enables multiple app stores and choices for developers to distribute apps. Google Play has a business model and billing policy that allow us to invest in our platform and tools to help developers build successful businesses while keeping users safe,” a Google spokesperson told The Verge.
Prior to this, Epic had been distributing Fortnite independently since its 2018 release via the Epic Games store and its respective app. The game is also available on iOS through the App Store.
To clarify its stance against Google’s prices, the developer said in a statement “Epic doesn’t seek a special exception for ourselves; rather we expect to see a general change to smartphone industry practices in this regard.”
“We have asked that Google not enforce its publicly stated expectation that products distributed through Google Play use Google’s payment service for in-app purchases. We believe this form of tying of a mandatory payment service with a 30% fee is illegal in the case of a distribution platform with over 50% market share.”
As of now, it seems Epic has changed its mind. No doubt the company is revelling adding Android users to Fornite’s eclipsing 250-million-strong player base across all of its platforms.
