In an effort to rid itself from the platform overlords,Ā Epic Games announced today (Aug. 3) that it will not distribute its massively popular game Fortnite Battle Royale through the Google Play Store. Instead, Android users will be able to download the game directly from Fortniteās official website.
This move allows Epic, the companyās CEOĀ Tim Sweeney told The Verge, to maintain a direct relationship with its fans, but the real motivation is likely financial. In order to get listed in marketplaces like Googleās Play Store, app developers must agree to give Google a 30% cut of the money they make on the platform. Normally, this is a necessary evil because platforms have all the eyeballs. But for Epic, which already has a loyal fanbase for Fortnite, selling directly to consumers allows it to pocket its earnings directly, without having to give Google a cut. Itās like being a movie studio, distribution company, and box office all in one.
Epic is intimately familiar with the stakesĀ of distributing through a platform.
In its first three weeks on Appleās App Store, Fortnite reportedly brought inĀ over $15 million,Ā out-earning other viral phenomenons likeĀ like Candy Crush SagaĀ andĀ PokĆ©mon Go.Ā Itās likely that Epic saw how much it was handing over to Apple, which has similar fee structures to Google, and didnāt want to do the same thing for Android, theĀ most ubiquitous operating system in the world.
ā30 percent is disproportionate to the cost of the services these stores perform, such as payment processing, download bandwidth, and customer service,ā Sweeney told The Verge.
Fornite is free to play, but Epic is generating reams of cash from in-game purchases, like new pickaxes and costumes for their players, which provide no advantage to the gamerās performance.
With creators finding alternative ways to reach fans and huge corporationsĀ pouring money into online media, itās no wonderĀ Apple, Alphabet, and Facebook are all investing in original content that they can own.
The Android version ofĀ Fortnite still has no concrete release date.