Epic Games Inc., the maker of the popular Fortnite shooter, is adding third-party games to its new mobile marketplace, intensifying a long-running and costly dispute with Apple Inc. and Google over App Store fees.
The games are the first mobile games developed by outside developers to appear on the Epic Games Store, the company said Thursday, and include games played on Google Android devices globally and Apple iOS devices in Europe. Some are free to play.
Epic Games’ mobile store debuted in August with its own titles such as Fortnite and Rocket League. Founder and CEO Tim Sweeney told reporters that the company has invested more than $1 billion (approximately Rs. 8,626 crore) in digital storefronts for video games and mobile applications.
“We spend more money every year than we make because we choose to invest in growth,” he said.
Sweeney has been fighting in court and in the marketplace since 2020 to wrest control of mobile apps from Apple and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. Although the company has secured some concessions from the technology leader, fans are still having a hard time downloading the Epic Games Store from devices using its software.
“Apple and Google make it very difficult,” Sweeney said. “Our goal was to have 100 million installs of a first-party game. We knew it was going to be really hard. Eventually we hit 30 million.”
Sweeney blames this on the barriers these companies put up, including pop-ups and other deterrents.
In 2023, a federal appeals court in California ruled largely in Apple’s favor on Epic’s claims that the iPhone maker’s App Store engaged in monopolistic behavior. However, Apple is required to open its App Store to external payment options. Epic wins antitrust lawsuit against Google.
According to a report by Matthew Ball, CEO of investment advisory firm Epyllion, Apple and Google will take 30% of revenue from App Store sales in 2023, which is expected to reach $23 billion (approximately Rs. 1,98,384 crore).
“The store fees deprive developers of much-needed reinvested profits,” Ball said. “Their control also hinders the development of new experiences and business models that could revive growth and/or create new genres and companies.”
Sweeney, whose desktop and mobile stores charge a 12% commission, called the Apple and Google app stores “the greatest abuse of market power in modern history.”
Epic said that so far, none of the top 100 mobile game developers by revenue have been willing to offer their games on the Epic Games Store because of Apple’s core technology fees and other restrictions imposed by the company.
Under Apple’s core technology fees, developers may be required to pay download fees when they choose to distribute their most popular mobile games on alternative app stores. To ease the burden, Epic will cover the cost of all games on iOS or iPadOS devices from developers participating in the Epic Games Store’s free games program.
“When you have a great business that spends more money than you make, the word is ‘investment,'” Sweeney said.
© Thomson Reuters 2025
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