Epic Games plans so as to add practically 20 third-party video games onto its cell app retailer worldwide on Android and within the European Union on iOS and launching its free video games program on cell starting with Bloons TD 6 and Dungeon of the Endless: Apogee. It’s additionally promising to pay some iOS charges for builders which are a part of this system to beat what Epic calls a serious hurdle to shifting exterior the App Store.
“Our intention right here isn’t simply to launch a bunch of various shops in other places, however to construct a single, cross-platform retailer by which, throughout the period of multi-platform video games, for those who purchase a recreation or digital objects in a single place, you could have the power to personal them all over the place,” Epic CEO Tim Sweeney advised reporters throughout a press briefing. Under this system, Epic will provide new free video games within the retailer every month earlier than finally switching to a weekly schedule.
However, the video games aren’t really within the retailer but — Epic mentioned on Thursday that it “bumped into just a few bugs that we’re working via now” and “we’ll present an replace as soon as the video games are dwell and able to play!”
To sweeten the deal for builders that take part within the free video games program on iOS, Epic will assist defray the price of utilizing third-party marketplaces. For one yr, it can pay these builders’ Core Technology Fee (CTF): a 50 euro cent price levied on each set up of an iOS app that makes use of third-party shops after it exceeds 1 million annual downloads. (Apple provides builders with lower than €10 million in international income a three-year on-ramp.)
Epic has been an outspoken critic of the CTF. In a weblog submit shared with The Verge, it laments that after a developer crosses that 1 million annual obtain threshold, “even when a developer decides to listing only one recreation on the Epic Games Store, they need to pay the price each time any of their video games are downloaded on iPhones or iPads, whether or not it’s from the Apple App Store or an alternate retailer.” The price is “ruinous for any hopes of a competing retailer getting a foothold,” Sweeney says. And whereas Epic will lose cash by paying the CTF for these builders, he says, “we really feel like we’ve to be those breaking the logjam there.”
The firm hopes the EU will take motion on what it alleges is a violation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which governs digital competitors. Epic writes in its weblog submit that overlaying the price “will not be financially viable for each third social gathering app retailer or for Epic long run, however we’ll do it whereas the European Commission investigates Apple’s non-compliance with the regulation.”
It’s the newest maneuver in a long-running battle between Epic and the cell working system builders Apple and Google. The recreation maker has challenged each corporations over their practices within the US with blended success, and it’s hoping that the European Union will take up its trigger. The iOS Epic Games Store is EU-only as a result of Apple has been compelled to open up its ecosystem there beneath the DMA; it continues to say its restrictions elsewhere are supposed to defend the safety of its system.
Epic argues many cell recreation builders aren’t on its retailer as a result of Apple and Google discourage them with restrictions and costs. The firm quotes nameless recreation builders — their identities withheld to keep away from retaliation from Apple, it says — citing the CTF as a deterrent.
Apple, on its web site, argues that the CTF “displays the worth Apple gives builders via ongoing investments within the instruments, applied sciences, and providers that allow them to construct and share revolutionary apps with customers.”
“We received’t actually have app retailer freedom, even in Europe … except the DMA is robustly enforced”
Epic had far fewer installs of its cell retailer since its launch than it anticipated: simply 29 million on the finish of 2024, it says in its weblog submit, in comparison with its purpose of 100 million. It attributes this partly to friction like cell “scare screens,” which it says drive away customers from putting in the Epic Games Store greater than 50 p.c of the time.
With a doubled set up base plus any community results the place customers obtained their associates to hitch, “I feel it could have been simple for us to get to 100 million customers,” Sweeney claims. Ultimately, he provides, “We received’t actually have app retailer freedom, even in Europe, and precise person alternative and competitors, except the DMA is robustly enforced.”
Epic has been combating this battle for a very long time, with its flashy 2020 lawsuit towards Apple marking a key turning level. But Sweeney is ready for the battle to proceed for the higher a part of this decade. Even with a brand new US president who appears to be like pretty cozy with huge tech, Sweeney says he’s nonetheless optimistic Donald Trump’s appointees are ready to tackle the business.
“The ridiculous irony is that Epic Games is ready to absolutely compete with the App Store on equal phrases solely in Europe,” Sweeney says. “In America, we’re blocked from it. And in America, a US citizen can not acquire Fortnite [on iOS] — it’s blocked from you by Apple. I feel that’s ridiculous, and that should change, and it’ll change.”
Updates, January twenty third: After we printed this text, which was scheduled to publish at an Epic-provided embargo time, Epic spokesperson Natalie Munoz advised The Verge that the “launch of third social gathering video games on the Epic Games Store is barely delayed.” We’ve made small changes to the piece to mirror that. We’ve additionally added a tweet from Epic in regards to the delay and an announcement from Apple’s web site in regards to the CTF.
