Epic Games launches mobile store, bringing Fortnite and Fall Guys to iOS and Android

The Epic Games Store is launching on mobile today.

The Fortnite firm announced it will be bringing its games marketplace to Android worldwide, and to iOS in the European Union thanks to this year's Digital Markets Act requiring Apple to enable third-party stores on its mobile ecosystem.

Epic's mobile catalogue will begin with three titles, starting with Fortnite, which marks its return to iOS, as well as Rocket League Sideswipe (a spin-off of the popular racing sports game that launched in 2021) and the brand new Fall Guys Mobile. The latter will feature cross-play and cross-progression with the popular online game already on PC and consoles.

These three titles will also launch on AltStore, an independent mobile store also available on iOS. They will be coming to Aptoide on iOS and the One Store on Android at a later date. Epic is even in discussions with Microsoft regarding its upcoming Xbox mobile store, although terms have not been set yet.

In a media brefing earlier this week, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney thanked the European Commission for not only passing the DMA law that enabled the Epic Games Store to launch on iOS but also for "really going in on holding Apple and Google's feet to the fire to ensure that they can't just obstruct competition."

"[Apple and Google] are going to great efforts to slow us down and tried to stop us several times, and the EC always stepped up and ensured that competitors were able to enter the market, which we're now doing," he said.

"This is just the beginning of efforts to bring our games back to all these platforms worldwide. The fight's not over until Fortnite is back on iOS everywhere and free of Apple's junk fees and [tech fees]. But this is an awesome milestone."

Steve Allison, general manager of the Epic Games Store, added: "The industry needs this. We're super excited about our progress on this — we've a long way to go, but we're on our way."

Epic Games is aiming for 100 million new net installs across iOS and Android by the end of 2024, which Allison believes is achievable on a level playing field but notes that both Apple and Google have introduced "pretty significant" for users.

Installing the Epic Games Store is not as simple as finding it in the App Store or Google Play and simpling clicking 'Install.' Instead, it must be downloaded directly from Epic's website and the process on each platform requires uses to go through multiple steps — 15 on iOS, 12 on Android, by Epic's estimations — to approve its installation.

Steps include multiple confirmations that users want to download this software and warnings that it comes from an 'unknown source' — dubbed by Epic as 'scare screens' — and changing various settings on your smart device to avoid dead ends.

"It's designed to make players drop out before they get to the end of it, so we're concerned about that," said Allison. "This undermines competition across the board, especially when we're competing with Apple and Google who only put their players through one step to get something installed.

"We're starting with our first-party games for a reason. This is a lot of friction to put users through. We have some of the biggest games in the world, so this is a lot of motivation for players to go through these steps and our goal is to get as many installs — hopefully tens of millions, if not that 100 million — before we get to the end of the year, when we'll be starting to onboard third party games."

"This is just the beginning of efforts to bring our games back to all these platforms worldwide. The fight's not over until Fortnite is back on iOS everywhere and free of Apple's junk fees and [tech fees]"

Tim Sweeney, Epic Games

Epic has provided step-by-step guides to players on how to install the store on iOS and Android. It is also incentivising players with in-game rewards and currency across the three titles to help reach the level of installs the company hopes for, but Sweeney said there's not much else his team can do to "overcome the fear Google's warnings create."

"They portray Epic's software as coming from an 'unknown source' — the user is downloading one of the most well-known and popular games in the world. Google knows who we are, we defeated them in federal court last year in a major antitrust case, but Google is still lying to users and saying our software is from an 'unknown source.'"

Another concern, particularly on iOS, are the fees Apple has introduced for developers using alternative stores, including the Core Technology Fee that charges game makers €0.50 for every install that doesn't come via its own App Store.

Apple is also introducing additional fees as part of changes made to comply with the DMA, following the EU's investigation that preliminarily found the iOS firm was in violation of the new regulations.

"These disincentives third-party developers from joining other stores, keeping them in the walled garden," said Allison of the fees. "The wall got higher and they put barbed wire around it with the Core Tech Fee and some new things last week we're still trying to understand. They're adding new fees and changing the fundamental business model, even on the App Store, [in a way] designed to stop the biggest games leaving their familiar environment and venturing out to work with partners like us."

While the Epic Games Store is only available on iOS in the EU for now, Allison is hoping Apple's ecosystem will open up in Japan and the UK next year, with more regions to follow that.

"Over the next couple of years, hopefully we'll be available worldwide on iOS," he said. "And we're continue to work with alternative stores worldwide that offer developers great terms."

As and when the mobile Epic Games Store is opened to third-party developers, Epic will continue to offer the 88-12 revenue share available in the PC store, as well as programs such as Epic First Run, where developers can opt into six-month deals exclusivity in exchange for 100% revenue during that period.

GamesIndustry.biz asked how Epic hopes to fare on mobile given the dominance of the established stores. Android is already a fragmented market with multiple alternative stores available, including some built-in by phone manufacturers such as Samsung, but Google Play remains the go-to place for users seeking new apps.

"I am hopeful that a store that comes in with genuinely competitive terms and does its best to vye for developers' and consumers' interests will have a real chance to compete," Sweeney said. "[And] a key to operating any exclusive store is to have some exclusive products that are unique to you and draw users into your store."

Allison agreed: "If you're not device native, you need to be anchored on exclusive content. You can have all the content that's on all the other stores, but we have the blessing of being anchored on some of the biggest games in the world. It's exactly how Steam on PC built their business. We're fighting anticompetitive behaviour, but we have an opportunity to scale up and build something awesome here."

"We have the blessing of some of the biggest games in the world - exactly how Steam on PC built their business. We have an opportunity to scale up and build something awesome here"

Steve Allison, Epic Games

The launch of the Epic Games Store is a major milestone in the Fortnite firm's ongoing legal disputes with Apple and Google over the 30% fee and other practices Epic maintains are anti-competitive - and Sweeney reiterated that the company will continue fighting both firms, insisting they have too much power over their mobile platforms.

By way of example, he said that after Epic Games Sweden received an iOS developer account in order to create the mobile store, Apple "revoked it because of our past dispute." He added Apple has also tried to block the Epic Games Store because, for instance, it originally used a blue button marked 'Get' to trigger installs. Apple argued this was too similar to the 'Get' button of its own store, so Epic changed it to read 'Install' - yet Apple reportedly continued to block it.

"If you give Apple the arbitrary power to block competitors' access to the platform, they can block whoever they want," said Sweeney. "That power needs to be taken away from Apple. There needs to be zero Apple involvement or Apple friction in becoming an authorised developer for these platforms.

"The platform needs to be opened up like Windows, where developers can make software for it without Microsoft's permission. Or the power needs to be transferred to actual regulators, rather than Apple."

When asked if he has any regrets over the four-year legal dispute, Sweeney replied: "I have no regrets. Apple had to be challenged."

He concluded: "We've probably lost $1 billion through Fortnite not being available worldwide on iOS, but what's the cost of freedom?"