Epic pulls Fortnite from "rent collector" mobile stores as it readies own shop
"Even if those stores offer us a special deal for our own games."
This summer, Epic Games finally gets its wish when, thanks to new EU regulations, it's launching its own digital store on iOS and Android. And ahead of its arrival, the company has announced it's removing Fortnite and other Epic games from what it calls "rent collector" competing stores, "even if those stores offer us a special deal for our own games."
In its announcement post, Epic first confirms developers selling games on its on its new mobile store will be subject to the same 12 percent fee seen on its PC digital storefront (zero percent if a developer uses a third-party payment system). It then reveals plans to pull its own games from some competing stores. More specifically, it says it'll be "ending distribution partnerships with mobile stores that serve as rent collectors without competing robustly and serving all developers fairly, even if those stores offer us a special deal for our own games."
It's also pulling Fortnite and its other titles from the Samsung Galaxy Store, in what it calls "protest of Samsung's anticompetitive decision to block side-loading by default" on its devices. Conversely, Epic says it's planning to brings its own mobile games to stores that "give all developers a great deal". One of these will be the indie-focused AltStore.
The reason for all this, it insists, is that "we want to do everything we can to support other stores that strive to bring all developers their own great deals." Of course, it probably also helps that by manoeuvring its games from major to minor competing stores, it's pretty much guaranteeing most Fortnite traffic on mobile will come through its own store, where it won't need to pay a cut on its revenue at all.
Epic has been battling to return to iOS ever since Fortnite was booted out of Apple's ecosystem in 2020, when Epic deliberately circumvented contractually mandated App Store payment mechanisms within its Fortnite iOS app. Attempts to reverse Apple's decision through legal means have largely been unsuccessful in the US, with courts predominantly ruling in Apple's favour as time has gone on. However, the EU's Digital Markets Act has now provided the Fortnite maker with a means of getting its foot back in the door - in the EU at least.
The Epic Games Store is set to launch on iOS in the EU and Android worldwide later this year. Epic has also said it'll be bringing Fortnite and its store to iOS in the UK in the "second half of 2025". That announcement might be a little premature, however, given there's still much to be determined around the UK's new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.