Epic has finally launched its promised, dedicated mobile store for both Android and iOS devices (with the latter depending on where you live), giving an official digital home to the mobile version of Fortnite and fulfilling the company’s mission to prevent platform vendors from siphoning a big percentage of its profits from the sale of games and in-game purchases.
The store has launched with a slim line-up of Epic-published titles that includes Fortnite, Rocket League Sideswipe and the very recently-released Fall Guys for mobile, with Epic saying it’s working to support all developers releasing their games and apps through the new mobile store in the future.
While the benefits for Epic itself are clear (more money), there will also be reasons for players to make use of it, with things like parental controls and the Epic Rewards programme for eligible titles and purchases. And for developers, the EGS on mobile will reportedly offer the same 88/12 revenue split that developers receive on the PC equivalent.
While the new Digital Markets Act means that Epic’s mobile store is available right now for iOS devices in the European Union, the company says that Apple is still blocking all other iOS users outside of Europe from accessing Fortnite or the Epic Games Store for iOS.
Right now, the process for actually installing the EGS for mobile on both platforms is a bit awkward and lengthy, thanks to both platforms being fairly safeguarded when it comes to installing apps from outside of their official storefronts, but there are tutorial videos available for both below:
“The tide is turning and the mobile ecosystem is finally opening up to competition,” writes Epic Games’ CEO, Tim Sweeney, in an official press release. “We are grateful to the European Commission for making it possible to launch the Epic Games Store and offer our games to iOS users in the European Union. Now European iOS users and all Android users can access our store and games, as they’ve always been able to do on open platforms like PC and Mac. The fight is far from over, but this is tangible progress for developers and consumers who can begin to benefit from competition and choice.”
