Fortnite developer Epic Games launched its own app store on Friday, allowing its users to bypass the stores operated by Apple and Google, after years of struggling to offer its games directly to smartphone users.
The Epic Games Store is available to Android phone users worldwide and to iPhone and iPad users in Europe.
The store’s launch came after Epic fought legal battles and lobbied regulators to loosen Apple and Google’s grip on the sale of apps for phones running their operating systems.
“We are very excited to be on the verge of releasing our games on iOS and Android, enabled by the new European DMA law,” Epic CEO Tim Sweeney told reporters from the company’s office in Sweden.
The EU’s new law, known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), has forced Apple to open its services to app developers in Europe, but the US company is not doing so elsewhere.
“The DMA asked us to enable new opportunities for developers in the EU, and we have worked to make these as easy as possible for users while trying to protect their privacy and security,” Apple said on Friday.
EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton posted on X: “Yes, gamers, Europe means more #FREEDOM & choice!”
Fortnite is also returning to iPhones and iPads after being banned in 2020 for attempting to circumvent Apple’s payment systems.
Epic filed a lawsuit in 2020 seeking to break Apple’s control over the App Store, accusing the iPhone maker of operating a monopoly in its digital services store.
But Apple lost its lawsuit in federal court against the requirement to retain up to 30 percent of all financial transactions in its app store. In January, the US Supreme Court declined to hear the case, effectively ending the legal saga.
Apple justifies the fees by saying that they help weed out dangerous apps and make the operating system secure.
– ‘Friction’ –
Epic is the first major video game publisher to open its own app store for Android and Apple devices.
To attract app developers to its store, Epic offers them better revenue sharing terms than Apple or Google.
However, Epic said that Apple was not making it easy for the company: setting up its app store was a lengthy and non-transparent process, and the conditions for cooperation were unfavorable for developers.
When Apple announced last week that it would comply with new EU rules, the company said it would introduce a new fee structure for developers who send customers away for offers and content from an app.
Epic has set a goal of achieving 100 million installations of its app store on Android and iOS devices by the end of the year.
“The only thing standing in our way is the friction that Apple and Google are putting in our way, and that is quite significant,” said Steve Allison, head of the Epic Games Store.
In addition to Fortnite, Rocket League Sideswipe is also available in the store, as is Fall Guys, which is appearing on mobile for the first time.
