The Epic Games Store is set to expand to mobile devices, including both iOS and Android, by the end of 2024. This announcement was made during the State of Unreal event at GDC.
Steve Allison, the general manager of the Epic Games Store, highlighted the company’s efforts in challenging the restrictions imposed by mobile platform gatekeepers such as Apple and Google. It was noted that Epic CEO Tim Sweeney was absent from the event as he is currently engaged in an antitrust legal battle against the two companies in Australia.
Key Features of the Epic Games Store for Mobile:
Upon its launch on mobile, the Epic Games Store aims to become the first games-centric, multiplatform marketplace, integrated with users’ Epic accounts. The store will offer popular titles like Fortnite along with a curated selection of third-party games. Additionally, Epic plans to introduce new self-publishing tools specifically targeted for mobile developers.
Existing terms for the Epic Games Store on PC will also apply to the mobile version, ensuring a more favorable revenue split of 88/12 in favor of developers, significantly lower than the 30% fees charged by the App Store and Google Play.
Furthermore, games with in-app purchases will have the freedom to utilize their own payment service providers. Epic is also offering attractive deals such as 0% royalties on games that use the Unreal Engine on the Epic Games Store, and exclusive benefits for titles that launch exclusively on the platform.
By the end of 2023, the Epic Games Store had amassed over 270 million player accounts on PC, with more than 75 million monthly active users who spent a total of $950 million during the year.
