When Fortnite originally released for mobile devices, the game was not made available for the Google Play Store. However, Epic announced today that Fortnite would be put on the Google Play Store going forward, with the game officially available in the store now for Android users.
Previously, Fortnite was kept away from the Google Play Store in a seemingly purposeful attempt. In 2019, Epic told The Verge that it had asked Google for an exemption on its30% fee that the company requires for in-app purchases. Google didn’t grand them any such exemption, so Fortnite never appeared on the Google Play Store.
In a statement sent to Polygon, however, Epic said that the reason for the change is due to what it calls “disadvantages” that Google puts on apps located outside of the Google Play Store.
After 18 months of operating Fortnite on Android outside of the Google Play Store, we’ve 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.
We hope that Google will revise its policies and business dealings in the near future, so that all developers are free to reach and engage in commerce with customers on Android and in the Play Store through open services, including payment services, that can compete on a level playing field.
After 18 months of operating Fortnite on Android outside of the Google Play Store, we’ve come to a basic realization,” reads Epic’s statement. “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.”
For all these reasons, Epic says it’s now going to release the game through an official Android channel, which means the company will now pay Google the 30 percent cut mandated by the Play Store for all in-app purchases. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has been a vocal critic of both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store, accusing both platforms of abusing their respective market positions to charge developers more than necessary.
