Epic Games affirmed its commitment to bringing the Epic Games Store to iOS and Android before the end of 2024 during its State of Unreal presentation at GDC 2024.
Steve Allison, Epic Games Store general manager, explained that the mobile version of the Epic Games Store will feature Fortnite, as well as games from “a selection of third-party partners who have expressed interest in joining us when we launch.” Like the PC version of the storefront, developers who release games on the mobile version of the Epic Games Store will have 88/12 base revenue share and Unreal Engine royalties waived.
All of this comes after years of legal battles between Epic Games and companies like Apple and Google. In particular, Apple has been historically picky about not letting storefronts that would compete with the App Store onto iPhone, and it went as far as banning Fortnite when Epic Games attempted to circumvent App Store transactions. Those legal battles, along with new laws passed in the EU, have caused Apple to loosen its restrictions a bit, so Epic Games is now jumping at the chance to get its own storefront on iOS and Android, with Fortnite as its flagship game. We’ll have to wait and see how Apple responds to this news and if Epic Games can meet the target of its 2024 release window without running into any more legal trouble.
If you care more about PC and console gaming, this wasn’t the only news to come out of the State of Unreal show. We got our first in-engine look at Amy Hennig’s Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, as well as news on some other games and improvements to Unreal Engine 5.