Epic Games is on the brink of releasing the iOS version of its battle royale game Fortnite in the European Union. The title will be soon available on third-party app stores, including AltStore. Fortnite is no longer listed in the Galaxy Store either.
Fortnite Comes Back to iOS
Fortnite is returning to iOS in the European Union. The Epic Games Store is launching on Android worldwide and on iOS in the European Union following an App Store approval from Apple of its 'Epic Games' store app recently. The store will offer very friendly terms for developers, only charging a fee of 12% for the payments that it processes and 0%, if it is processed by third-party payment processors.
It's because Epic Games now has plans to take their own mobile games, like Fortnite, to other mobile stores. In addition, this publisher-developer will be "ending partnerships with the mobile stores that act as debt collectors, do not compete properly, and do not treat the developers fairly."
Epic Games also mentioned it decided to pull its games from the Samsung Galaxy Store, partly due to a recent update on newer Galaxy devices that turns on blocking of sideloading by default. While the Auto Block feature itself has been available for some time now, a new update recently turned it on by default. Users can turn Auto Block off again, however. Epic also pointed to a revelation from its lawsuit against Google. There are claims that Samsung was sent various proposals by Google to restrain the competitiveness in the Android app market.
Epic Games announced that Fortnite, and other games, will no longer be sold on the Samsung Galaxy Store. This is a protest against Samsung's anti-competitive actions of the One UI 6.1.1 Auto Blocker. By default, it blocks installations from unauthorized sources and sideloading.
The move by Epic Games to release Fortnite on third-party app stores is somewhat of a big event for the gaming industry. More than anything else, it underlines the enhanced requirement of fair competition in app store markets and that developers should be allowed to reach their audience without excessive fees. As the gaming industry continues to evolve, one would likely continue to see more developers embracing third-party app stores to distribute their content.
The fact that Fortnite is going to return to iOS in the EU, via third-party app stores, is a big deal for the gaming industry. Essentially, this change points to a meaningful shift in how games are distributed and places much greater emphasis on fair competition and developer rights. If there is to be continued evolution in this sector, it will be necessary to address the challenges and opportunities brought about with these changes.
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