Major games publisher Epic Games has announced its plans to launch a digital store on iOS as well as Android devices. The launch could take place sometime later this year. The decision stems from the European Union’s DMA (Digital Markets Act), which has made Apple take some strong decisions including forcing third-party app stores on iOS devices. Hence, it allows Epic Games to come with its own app store and compete with Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store on the respective platforms. Until now, Epic Games Store has been up and available on Windows and Mac, as an alternative to popular stores such as Steam, etc.
Epic Games shared the news today on X, saying, “We’re coming to iOS and Android!” The announcement mentioned, “Same fair terms for all developers, on a real multi-platform store, with awesome games for everyone.”
There’s more to this story than what it seems in the first place. Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney has been critical of the 70-30 revenue split charged by majors such as Apple and Google. Concurrently, Epic Games sued both firms, accusing them of monopolizing the mobile gaming market. Now, as Epic Games preps to launch its store on both platforms; the terms will be the same as they are on Epic Games Store on PC. This means it’s promising developers to keep 88% of their revenue i.e. 88-12 revenue split, on both Android and iOS stores. We may expect more details as we draw closer to the final release.
While this may sound exciting to the consumer, the business side is equally exciting. Evidently, it’s a major win for Epic Games as well, after all the legal battles with Google and Apple.
As of now, it’s anticipated that Fortnite will likely make it to the upcoming store. However, Epic Games hasn’t disclosed the full lineup yet. Similarly, the actual look of the store also remains under the wraps.