On August 16, Epic announced the launch of the Epic Games Store on mobile platforms.

Previously, Epic has announced that it will launch its game store on Android worldwide, as well as iOS in the European Union. That's thanks to the European Union's Digital Markets Act this year, which requires Apple to open third-party stores across its mobile ecosystem.

The Epic Games Store's catalog will start with three games: first Fortnite, which returns to iOS, then Rocket League Sideswipe (a spin-off of the hit motorsports game launched in 2021), and finally the all-new Fall Guys Mobile. Among them, players of the mobile version of Fall Guys will be able to play cross-progression and cross-platform play with players on PC and console.

All three games will also be available on the AltStore. AltStore is also a standalone mobile marketplace that is also available on iOS. After that, the three games will also be available on Aptoide on iOS and One Store on Android. Epic is even in discussions with Microsoft about its intended launch of a third-party mobile store for Xbox, but the terms have yet to be finalized.

An amazing milestone

Earlier last week, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney thanked the European Commission for not only passing the DMA law that allowed the Epic Games Store to launch on iOS, but also "really ensuring that Apple and Google can't stand in the way of competition."

"This is just the beginning of our efforts to bring our games back to all these platforms around the world," he said. The battle won't be over until Fortnite is back on iOS around the world and Apple's garbage fees are waived. But it's a remarkable milestone. “

Apple currently charges additional fees for developers who use other stores, including a core technology fee, which is €0.5 per install for games that are not installed through their own App Store. After the EU investigation preliminarily found that Apple had violated the new rules, Apple also introduced additional fees as part of the changes made to comply with the DMA.

Apple's obstruction with Google

Epic Games aims to achieve 100 million new net installs on iOS and Android by the end of 2024. Steve Allison, general manager of the Epic Games Store, believes that this is achievable in a level playing field, but points to the obstruction of their store installation by Apple and Google.

Installing the Epic Games Store is not as simple as finding it in the App Store or Google Play and clicking "Install" like normal software. Instead, it must be downloaded directly from Epic's website, and the installation process on each platform requires users to go through multiple steps. Epic estimates that it takes 15 steps on iOS and 12 steps to approve an install on Android.

"They're designed to make players give up halfway, so we're concerned about that, and it's detrimental to fair play," Allison said. ”

"No regrets about losing $1 billion"

Epic says that it will start with their first-party games and get as many installs as possible by the end of the year, hopefully tens or even 100 million, when they will start integrating third-party games. While the Epic Games Store is currently only available on iOS in the EU, Allison hopes to make progress in Japan and United Kingdom next year, followed by iOS in more regions.

Epic will continue to offer an 88/12 revenue share for PC as it becomes available to third-party developers as the Epic Games mobile platform becomes available, as well as programs such as Epic First Run, where developers have the option to join a 6-month exclusive deal in exchange for 100% of the revenue during that period.

Sweeney reiterated that the company will continue to fight Apple and Google, insisting that they have too much power over the mobile platform. "The mobile platform needs to be as open as Windows, and developers can develop software for it without Microsoft's permission," he said. Or rather, there is a need to hand over power to real regulators. ”

When asked if he regretted the four-year-long legal battle, Sweeney replied, "I don't regret it. Apple must be challenged. We may have lost $1 billion to the removal of Fortnite from iOS worldwide, but that's the price to pay for the platform's freedom. ”

The price is that the game is taken off the shelves for 4 years

Tencent's byte mini-program also had a dispute with Apple

Coincidentally, Tencent, the largest shareholder with nearly 50% of Epic Games' shares, has also recently been involved in a dispute with Apple. According to media reports earlier this month, Apple is stepping up pressure on Tencent and ByteDance to make fundamental changes to WeChat and Douyin, otherwise it will refuse to provide update services. In recent months, Apple has been asking the two companies to close a vulnerability in the WeChat and Douyin apps that could be exploited by in-app creators to divert users to external payment systems to circumvent Apple's usual 30 percent commission, according to people familiar with the matter.

Apple's move is considered to be aimed at the mini game ecosystem of WeChat and Douyin, and considering the scale of mini games and mini programs in the Chinese market, Apple's 30% tax imposition is bound to affect a large number of Chinese content creators, game and app developers, and will affect the profit margins and revenue scale of many Chinese mini game companies.

In this regard, Tencent also said at the results meeting that the company has not yet commercialized the mini games on iOS through in-app purchases. The company is discussing whether to start commercialization. "If it can be commercialized, it will not only be in the interest of us and Apple, but also in the interest of game developers and users. We hope that the discussions will lead to a positive outcome, as it will be a win-win-win outcome. But if there is no progress in the discussions, the current status quo will continue. ”

This article is from Xinzhi self-media and does not represent the views and positions of Business Xinzhi.If there is any suspicion of infringement, please contact the administrator of the Business News Platform.Contact: system@shangyexinzhi.com