After a long and arduous battle, the Epic Games Store is finally launching on mobile platforms today on both iOS and Android. However, the iOS version of the store is geographically limited to the European Union only, while the Android version of the Epic Games Store, in true Android fashion, is available globally without any restrictions.
The Epic Games Store is launching along with three familiar games, Fortnite, Fall Guys Mobile, and Rocket League Sideswipe. Fall Guys is the only game on the list that offers both cross-platform play as well as progression with the console and PC versions of the game. Third-party developers will also start adding their games to the store around the end of 2024.
The reason this is happening is that when Fortnite launched on the Apple App Store, the “Apple Tax” for in-app purchases was far too high for a platform as large as Fortnite. And since there was no room for negotiation, Epic Games got into a lawsuit with Apple, which resulted in Apple being forced to allow other app stores on the platform to encourage competition. If you’re familiar with the sideloading methods on iOS, you’re likely familiar with AltStore, which will also have access to the Epic Store games once they come out.
Apple’s tax of about 30% for most developers is extremely steep, and Epic is undercutting Apple by offering a maximum of 12% on its store. This will likely encourage most video game developers on iOS to move to the Epic Games Store, further reducing Apple’s pseudo-monopoly.
According to Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, even if the company spent a billion dollars during the lawsuit, it was a small price to pay for the freedom of the company as well as other developers who want to work in the space. Epic plans to work with developers in the long term, offering them better deals while trying to bring the store to the international market.
