For mobile gamers who have been waiting years for the return of Fortnite, it doesn’t look like they’ll have to remain patient much longer as the launch of the new mobile Epic Games Store seems to signal the end of the battle royale’s hiatus on iOS and Android devices.
Epic announced today during GDC 2024 that the iOS and Android release of the Epic Games Store application is planned for before the end of 2024. With the Epic Games Store officially coming to mobile devices, Fortnite is likely going to return either at the same time or shortly after, along with “a selection of third party partners who’ve expressed interest” in putting their games on the Epic Games Store at launch, according to Steve Allison, general manager of the Epic Games Store.
Like on the PC version, developers who release games through the Epic Games Store will be able to take advantage of a developer-friendly 88/12 percent revenue split. Developers will also have the ability to keep 100 percent of revenue on games with in-app purchases if they use their own payment processing services. But developers who do use Epic payment processing can get their Unreal Engine royalties waived.
The inclusion of these features is a key aspect of what Epic calls its ongoing fight against the “gatekeepers” of mobile platforms, namely Apple. Epic and Apple’s feud over the development and distribution of marketplace applications like the planned Epic Games Store is what led to Fortnite’s exodus from mobile devices. Earlier this month, Apple was forced to reinstate Epic’s developer account after terminating it days earlier.
Epic’s history with Apple certainly suggests that the company wants to release its games on its own marketplace app without having to go through the official Apple App Store. Thanks to recent laws like the Digital Markets Act in Europe, that idea looks primed to become a reality by the end of 2024.
