Despite Calling Its Revenue Split "Illegal," Epic Adds Fortnite To Google Play Store

Remember late last year, when Epic Games was lobbying Google for the right to have a better revenue split for Fortnite: Battle Royale in the Google Play Store? In effect, Epic wanted something closer to the 88/12 revenue split that titles on the Epic Games Store receive, rather than the 70/30 split offered by the Google Play Store. Epic went as far as to claim that the 70/30 split was "illegal in the case of a distribution platform with over 50% market share."

At the time, Fortnite was available on Android devices, though only as a direct download from Epic. It still is, but you can also get the official version of the game on the Google Play Store (as opposed to "unofficial" games like this and this). Epic itself still isn't a fan of the Store, as evidenced by its statement to Polygon, characterized as a "basic realization": Epic claims that Google "puts software downloadable outside of Google Play at a disadvantage," such as by warning that such software is malware, with "scary, repetitive security pop-ups" and "restrictive manufacturer and carrier agreements and dealings."

Epic still hopes "that Google will revise its policies and business dealings in the near future" and that the company will become more amenable to "open services, including payment services, that can compete on a level playing field." One's integrity in wishing for competition on a level playing field is slightly compromised, in my opinion, when one's own retail store is well-known for signing exclusive deals with game developers.