The Epic Games Store has been a popular PC game storefront for some time, particularly among Fortnite players. Epic Games, the company behind it, had shown intentions to bring it to Android back in 2019 during the launch timeline of the Epic Games app, but that never happened. Instead, its focus seemed to shift towards Apple, as it engaged in disputes with the California tech giant to make the Epic Games Store available on iOS.
Fast-forward to today, after legal battles with Google and Apple and years of waiting, the company has finally announced the arrival of the Epic Games Store on both Android and iOS smartphones.
The Epic Games Store Will Expand to Android and iOS Devices
Epic hosted its annual State of Unreal event at GDC ’24 (Game Developers Conference) and made important announcements. During the event, the company shared its plan to make the Epic Games Store available on mobile. It did not provide any specific date or timeline for the launch. Instead, it simply stated that the launch would occur “later this year.”
Epic Games aims to make its game store the “first ever game-focused, multi-platform store,” with a presence on all major platforms, namely Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. Users could use their Epic Games account to automatically sync their in-game saved progress and purchases across various devices, eliminating the hassle of doing this manually.
What Games Will Be Available?
The image Epic Games shared showcases what its mobile store could look like, along with a few titles. It features Rocket League Sideswipe, Fortnite, Fortnite Festival games, and the Postparty app. Interestingly, you can install all these games on Android through the Epic Games app. For iOS users, Rocket League Sideswipe can be installed via Apple’s App Store, while the launch of the Epic Games Store will bring back Fortnite.
There is no information on the availability of other games, but it is very likely that developers will publish their mobile games to the mobile Epic Games Store. This would be for their own advantage only.
Mobile Game Developers in for a Treat
Google charges developers a significant 30% of the revenue they generate, similar to what other players like Apple and Valve’s Steam charge. Epic, in contrast, operates with a substantially lower percentage, as it takes in 12% only. Though Google recently reduced its cut to 15% for the first 1 million in earnings each year, it’s still higher than Epic’s margins.
The Fortnite maker will also maintain a similar revenue-sharing model for its mobile store. It would charge developers just 12% of their total revenue, allowing them to keep the remaining 88%. Furthermore, Epic will also let developers use their own payment services, allowing them to retain up to 100% of their revenue.
This strategy will likely tempt many developers to bring their games to the Epic Games Store, creating a win-win situation for both developers and Epic Games. This concludes all the information Epic Games provided, saying it would reveal “more on this soon.”
