Six years ago, Epic Games launched mobile versions of the popular game Fortnite for Android and iOS. And two years later, the company intentionally violated Apple and Google’s mobile app store rules by offering an alternative payment method. Both Apple and Google kicked Fortnite off their respective app stores, and a lengthy legal battle ensued between the companies.
After Apple made some important changes to the version of iOS installed on phones in the European Union in response to the Digital Markets Act and Google faces increased scrutiny from regulators, Epic has announced a mobile version of the Epic Games Store for Android and iOS. It includes Epic titles like Fortnite, Fall Guys, and Rocket League Sideswipe, and Epic hopes to bring third-party titles to the store soon.
Reading the blog post announcing the new Epic Games Store mobile apps, it’s clear that Epic is still not particularly happy about the hurdles users have to overcome to install a third-party app store on mobile devices.
First, you can only install the Epic Games Store or other third-party app and game stores on iPhones if you’re in the European Union. Everyone else is out of luck.
And installing stores isn’t quite as easy as downloading an app from the App Store or Google Play Store. Epic says the process “is lengthy because Apple and Google intentionally introduce inferior experiences that involve multiple steps, confusing device settings, and scare screens,” and Epic “continues to fight in court and work with regulators around the world to remove the anti-competitive conditions Apple and Google impose on developers and consumers.”
Apple and Google generally respond that this experience is certainly “intentional,” but the intention is to make users aware that installing apps outside of the official Google and Apple stores can sometimes pose security or privacy risks.
By the way, Google has always allowed third-party app stores on Android, as well as the installation of apps from sources other than the Play Store. Even after Google removed Fortnite from the Play Store, users were able to download and install it using an Epic Games app available on the Epic website.
But now Epic is expanding its mobile offering by launching full-fledged game stores for the two most popular smartphone operating systems, with the plan to attract developers of third-party titles, just as Epic has already done with its Epic Games Store for Windows. Apple iPhone users will just not be able to use the store outside of Europe.
The Epic Games Store for Android is available worldwide via the Epic Games website and the Epic Games Store for iOS is available in the EU.
Epic also provides its own mobile games (including Fortnite, Rocket League Sideswipe and Fall Guys) other Third-party mobile app stores. The games are already available today on AltStore PAL for European iOS devices, and Epic plans to offer its games soon on Aptioide for iOS in the EU and on the ONE Store for Android.
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