Epic Games wanted to offer the mobile version of the online shooter Fortnite through the Google Play Store as well, but sought a special arrangement. According to Tim Sweeney, the 30% cut is illegal.
What did Epic Games want? The Android version of Fortnite can currently only be downloaded directly from Epic Games. However, the company wanted to offer the game through the Google Play Store as well. Among other reasons, many players use it as their primary source for games, which could help Epic reach more potential customers.
However, Google requires 30 percent of a game’s revenue in order for it to be offered on the Play Store. This is similar to what Steam or the Epic Games Store charges. Both platforms require game studios to give a share of their sales revenue.
Additionally, studios must use Google’s payment system. However, Epic wants to sell V-Bucks in Fortnite themselves to avoid having to give away the 30 percent.
Google rejects
What did Google say about it? The company made it clear that they would not grant Epic Games a special arrangement. Therefore, the inclusion of Fortnite in the Play Store was rejected.
Why did Google reject? Google explains that the regulations for the Play Store serve to invest a lot in the ongoing development and security of the store. In the end, developers benefit from it because they get a good and secure platform to distribute their games.
Therefore, there are no special arrangements. Not for Epic Games, for no one. Every game studio is invited to participate in the Play Store if they recognize the value of the system.
How did Epic Games react? Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, stated that they actually did not want an exception for Fortnite itself, but rather wanted to get Google to rethink the entire monetization of the Play Store.
“Epic does not want a special exception for itself. Rather, we expect a general change in practices in the smartphone industry. We have asked Google not to enforce its publicly expressed expectation that products distributed via Google Play must use Google’s payment service for in-app purchases. We believe that this form of tying to a payment service with a 30% fee is illegal when this distribution platform has a market share of over 50%.”
Tim Sweeney, Epic Games
Epic Games wanted to ensure that Google does not insist on the use of its own payment service, which requires developers to give up 30 percent of their revenue. And this should apply to all studios, not just Epic Games.
An important discussion
Has Google already responded to this? The website The Verge contacted Google, who stated that Epic did not require such an exception from Apple. There, the company accepted the 30 percent.
Furthermore, the 30 percent is standard in the market and necessary to cover all costs and operate a store that is safe and can promote developers’ games accordingly.
Epic Games has initiated a discussion that no longer pertains only to PC game stores but now also includes mobile games. Will we see a change in the monetization structure in app stores in the future? According to Google, it seems unlikely.
