{"id":93365,"date":"2025-02-17T09:51:29","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T09:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/apple-2\/epic-games-store-and-fortnite-launch-on-mobile-platforms-after-a-monumental-fight-the-deanbeat\/"},"modified":"2025-02-17T09:51:29","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T09:51:29","slug":"epic-games-store-and-fortnite-launch-on-mobile-platforms-after-a-monumental-fight-the-deanbeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=93365","title":{"rendered":"Epic Games Store and Fortnite launch on mobile platforms after a monumental fight |The DeanBeat"},"content":{"rendered":" \r\n
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The Epic Games Store debuted on iOS<\/a> in the European Union and on Android worldwide with Fortnite, Fall Guys and Rocket League Sideswipe included. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The return of Fortnite on iOS in Europe and on Android worldwide is significant for Epic Games as the battle royale game had been unavailable on iPhones since the onset of Epic\u2019s antitrust litigation<\/a> with Apple and Google in 2020. It\u2019s been an epic journey. You can download Fortnite on iOS<\/a> or Android<\/a> here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a press briefing, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said the company had spent hundreds of millions of dollars on its legal battle with the platforms to make this happen. But European Union regulations and other antitrust activity around the world ultimately forced the big mobile platforms to let Epic return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Epic Games also said that it is bringing its games including Fortnite, Falls Guys and Rocket League Sideswipe to the new AltStore<\/a> \u2014 a store started to bring more openness to the games industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today the Epic Games Store is available for download on iPhones in the European Union and on Android devices worldwide. The store is launching with Fortnite, Rocket League Sideswipe and the all-new Fall Guys for mobile, and Epic Games is working to enable all developers to launch their games and apps through the Epic Games Store in the future. (We\u2019ve asked Apple for comment on the allegations against it). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Epic Games Store for iPhones in the European Union and Android worldwide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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This is the 15th screen you see when installing Fortnite on iOS in Europe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Epic said it will have instructions on how to download and install the Epic Games Store on a mobile device for iOS users and separate instructions for Android users, and you will be able to find more information about first-party games on the Fortnite, Fall Guys and Rocket League Sideswipe blogs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortnite Battle Royale Chapter 5, Season 4: Absolute Doom launches today, which fans will be able to enjoy on mobile and across all other platforms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Epic\u2019s Sweeney said the company is able to launch on iOS devices in the European Union thanks to the Digital Markets Act, a regulation that went into effect this spring requiring \u201cgatekeeper platforms\u201d to provide fair access to their stores for antitrust reasons. But Sweeney noted Apple is still blocking all other iOS users outside of Europe from accessing Fortnite and Epic Games Store for iOS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, the process of installing the Epic Games Store on iOS and Android is lengthy due to Apple and Google introducing intentionally poor-quality install experiences laden by multiple steps, confusing device settings, and scare screens, Sweeney said. He noted it takes 15 steps on an iPhone before a user can proceed to sideloading on an alternative store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are continuing to fight in courts and work with regulators around the globe to eliminate the anticompetitive terms that Apple and Google impose on developers and consumers, so we can build a better store for everyone,\u201d Epic said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortnite, Rocket League Sideswipe and Fall Guys on third-party app stores<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Epic Games is partnering with third party mobile app stores<\/a> to bring games to any marketplace offering great terms for all developers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re starting by launching our games on AltStore today for iOS users in the European Union. We look forward to bringing our games to other stores around the world,\u201d Epic said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe tide is turning, and the mobile ecosystem is finally opening up to competition. We are grateful to the European Commission for making it possible to launch the Epic Games Store and offer our games to iOS users in the European Union,\u201d Sweeney said. \u201cNow European iOS users and all Android users can access our store and games, as they\u2019ve always been able to do on open platforms like PC and Mac. The fight is far from over, but this is tangible progress for developers and consumers who can begin to benefit from competition and choice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Epic Games Store will be available via epic.download on iOS devices in the European Union and Android devices worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fall Guys and Fortnite will be available where Epic Games Store is available on mobile platforms and via AltStore in the European Union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rocket League Sideswipe will be available on the Epic Games Store on Android worldwide and iPhones in the EU, as well as AltStore in the EU; it will continue to be available to iOS users via the Apple App Store for non-EU countries. See the blog post for additional details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The view from the AltStore<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Epic is launching on the AltStore.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

AltStore cofounders Riley Testut and Shane Gill said in a press briefing with Epic Games that they struggled with approvals from Apple as they were putting together their new store as an unofficial way to distribute apps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt started off this open source tool, and we were running that for a few years, but then, thanks to the Digital Markets Act, we were actually able to take this convoluted Alt Store app and turn it into an official app store app that we launched earlier this year,\u201d Testut said. \u201cSince launch, the reception has been great. We now have several apps in AltStore that have been historically banned from the App Store.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gill said he is the other cofounder of the two-person company AltStore and is an indie game developer. The primary focus of AltStore has been to work with indie developers and help them sort out issues they have had with App and its app review process. He noted Apple has \u201cexcessive rules and restrictions\u201d on what\u2019s allowed on its store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that Patreon recently said that Apple will now charge a 30% commission fee on any Patreon purchases on iOS as well as any purchases made in a Patreon creator\u2019s shop. He said that AltStore began as a Patreon project and Patreon integration is built into the AltStore..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnlike Apple\u2019s recent announcement, we\u2019re not taking 30% of all the donations you get from Patreon,\u201d Gill said. \u201cWe\u2019re not taking anything from that. And we just, we really believe in this concept of promoting indie devs and supporting that community and putting them at the forefront. We just think that a lot of their problems have been overlooked by Apple.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Testut also noted how onerous Apple\u2019s approval process is for reviewing apps. Apple even reviews apps submitted to the AltStore, especially if any apps promote their alternative stores via the apps in the App Store. Apple claimed this process was about checking security and privacy. But Testut said Apple has taken 30 days to review every single app before it gets distributed to the AltStore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And twice during these delays, Apple made changes to its own app store rules to allow the apps before Apple approved the apps for the AltStore. In April, Apple amended its App Store rules to allow video game emulators days before AltStore launched game emulators. And last month, after almost three months of review, Apple changed the App Store rules to allow virtual machine apps in the store, before approving the app for AltStore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very frustrating, and it makes it impossible to compete on equal grounds,\u201d Testut said. \u201cWe\u2019re working with regulators to improve this. We are hopeful this can be easier in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added, \u201cWe really view all stores like the modern equivalent of like the 1990s shareware mentality. We\u2019re just developers who want to just get their software out there for free and let anyone use it, and we\u2019re just going to keep fighting to make that possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aptoide complaint<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Aptoide has been an alternative Android store for a while.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Paolo Trezentos, CEO of Aptoide<\/a>, runs an app store that has been around on Android for 15 years. The company has worked with 100,000 developers and it has generated more than a million downloads and had more than five million in-app purchases on Android. In June, the company launched a version of its app store for iOS in the name of creating more competition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cImagine a world with just one bookstore or one library for the entire world,\u201d Trezentos said in the press briefing. \u201cThis would be impossible. And actually, we have two mobile ecosystems with five billion users. We have one app store in each ecosystem. It doesn\u2019t make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2014, Aptoide filed a competition complaint in Brussels against Google, attempting to show the single store is not good for consumers and developers. Trezentos said he contacted more than 500 developers to join its app store on iOS and only about 10 or 11 joined. That was because the friction that Apple introduced in the process, Trezentos said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving Epic and Epic titles like Fortnite in the ecosystem, in the iOS stores, not only the Epic Games Store, but also other app stores, will be a reference and will generate data points for other developers,\u201d Trezentos said. \u201cThen the second reason why is quite important this moment is also because Epic is establishing something that is important. You can have your own app store but still be available in other app stores. And if others, like Microsoft or others follow that path, they have this example, which we believe is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, he said this movement toward freedom of app stores will not stop in Europe. He believes it will be adopted in Japan and other countries too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we are discussing here today is really important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Epic Games Store<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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