Epic Games has been trying to use the popularity and momentum of Fortnite to become more than a game publisher. This all started when Epic Games launched its own game store that competes directly against the likes Steam and GoG. However, the game publisher took it to the next level when it decided to take off Fortnite from the official Google Play Store and offer the Battle Royale from its own store.
The move made by Epic Games was risky and now, it has been confirmed that the risk didn’t pay off. The reason why we are saying that is because the game developer has announced that Fortnite is coming back on the Google Play Store.
Fortnite is Now Available on the Google Play Store
“After 18 months of operating Fortnite on Android outside of the Google Play Store, we’ve come to a basic realization: Google puts software downloadable outside of Google Play at a disadvantage, through technical and business measures such as scary, repetitive security pop-ups for downloaded and updated software,” stated Epic Games.
“Restrictive manufacturer and carrier agreements and dealings, Google public relations characterizing third party software sources as malware, and new efforts such as Google Play Protect to outright block software obtained outside the Google Play Store,” reads the statement. “Because of this, we’ve launched Fortnite for Android on the Google Play Store.”
“We hope that Google will revise its policies and business dealings in the near future, so that all developers are free to reach and engage in commerce with customers on Android and in the Play Store through open services, including payment services, that can compete on a level playing field, added the game publisher.
Final Words
From the looks of it, Google has won the battle for mobile gaming monopoly on Android. Nonetheless, we have to give praise to Epic Games for trying to make a difference in the gaming industry. Let’s hope that this sets an example for all other game publishers.
