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Epic Games bypasses the Google Play Store for Fortnite on Android

Players will have to load the game on their own if they want in on the craze.

Brittany Vincent

August 3, 2018 11:00 AM

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Looking to pick up Fortnite on Android? We still don't have a release date just yet, but Epic Games has confirmed that the game will not be distributed via the Google Play Store. Instead, the game will be available via the official Fortnite website instead, where players can simply download a special installer that will get the game loaded onto their devices. This new report follows this week's leaks where eagle-eyed players found information on the official Fortnite website that suggested as much.

Fortnite is available via the App Store for iOS users, but Epic has declined to use the Google Play Store because it wants to maintain its "direct relationship" with fans.

“Epic wants to have a direct relationship with our customers on all platforms where that’s possible,” said Sweeney in communication with The Verge. “The great thing about the Internet and the digital revolution is that this is possible, now that physical storefronts and middlemen distributors are no longer required.”

But more importantly, Epic Games doesn't want to pony up for Google's 30 percent cut that it takes as a tax on purchases, because the game makes all its funding entirely through said purchases. Not that Fortnite has earned more money than it will ever know what to do with since its debut, with the iOS version making $15 million in just three weeks since it released. The bump in Fortnite revenue even helped Epic reduce its own revenue take when it comes to users who sell their work via the Unreal Engine 4 platform.

It's an odd avenue to take, to be sure, but we'll have to wait and see how it plays out for Epic. Chances are it'll not affect Fortnite's popularity in the slightest, and people will still be chomping at the bit to get their hands on the game for Android devices, just the same as they'd behave if for some reason the game was offered with free viruses attached. No one would bat an eye, because it's Fortnite, after all. 

Brittany Vincent

Senior Editor

Fueled by horror, rainbow-sugar-pixel-rushes, and video games, Brittany is a Senior Editor at Shacknews who thrives on surrealism and ultraviolence. Follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake and check out her portfolio for more. Like a fabulous shooter once said, get psyched!