It's not been a great day mobile players of the hugely popular game Fortnite, with the battle royale being kicked off the App Store earlier today, and now the Google Play Store too. The reason behind both store bans is a new in-game payment system Epic Games sneaked into Fortnite that bypasses the App Store and Google Play Store cuts.
Epic's update let players pay the company directly for in-app purchases in Fortnite, allowing Epic Games to avoid the 30% fee Apple and Google take from microtransactions, which Epic's CEO Tim Sweeney has criticized strongly in the past. The Google Play Store rules are generally more relaxed than the App Store's, but Google has a strong stance on games giving 30% to the Play Store.
Although Google took longer to ban Fortnite than Apple did, Google issued a strict statement on the banning and claimed Epic Games violated the Play Store's "consistent policies that are fair to developers and keep the store safe for users." The statement adds that this isn't a permaban, and Google is interested in discussing the possibility of Fortnite's return with Epic.
Given Epic's new #FreeFortnite ad campaign, it doesn't seem likely that it will accept paying either Google or Apple's fees anymore. The ad campaign compares Apple to the controlling government in 1984 with a new short called "Nineteen Eight-Fortnite." Seeing as both Google and Apple are serving Epic with the same treatment, a critical ad portrayal could be coming Google's way too.
Android users need not panic, as there is still a way for them to download Fortnite through the Epic Games app, which only takes 12% from game devs. Samsung users can also download Fortnite through the Samsung Galaxy Store. Apple users, however, don't currently have a way to download Fortnite to their iPhones or iPads (unless the app is already on their device, of course). Like Google, Apple also says it would welcome Epic back, but does not want to create any special arrangements or discounts.
Epic's response to the App Store ban is to sue Apple for "oppressive" store terms, and it may very well take the same route with Google. Apple is coming under fire recently because it blocked Microsoft's Project xCloud from the App Store, and a Congressional anti-trust hearing recently examined Apple as well as Facebook, Amazon, and Google for potential monopolizing. If Epic chooses to take on both Google and Apple, there could be a major reckoning for huge companies and whether their policies are really fair like they claim them to be.
Fortnite is out now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: The Verge