In 2020, Epic Games — developers of Fortnite and the Unreal Engine that powers a significant number modern video games — declared war on both Apple and Google’s mobile storefronts. Epic wanted to challenge the idea of significant passive revenue percentages, specifically the way Apple and Google collect a percentage of all transactions made on their platforms. Epic, who was making quite a bit of money on Fortnite in 2020, took exception to this.
Four years later, Epic has won some battles and lost others, but has successfully pushed both companies to make concessions they had not expected to make. These app stores combined were worth $124 billion 2023, according to Sensor Tower, so any changes made to them have great ripple effects across the mobile game development industry. Here’s three big takeaways for developers figuring out what this means for them.
1. Forcing alternate payment methods on iOS
One of the major consequences of the repeated back-and-forth from Epic and Apple’s repeated court appearances is that Epic wanted apps on iOS to offer alternate payment methods that circumvent Apple’s own system which takes an industry-standard 30% cut. While Apple did allow software developers to link outside payment methods, it required an external link that would take 27% rather than 30%. While it’s not an ideal solution for Epic, it is wrestling some degree of control away from Apple’s revenue plans. It does open the door to further changes by setting the precedent, however.
2. Forcing alternate storefronts on android and iOS
A more recent court decision in Epic’s favor brought about a court order against Google to open up Android to alternate stores completely. This opened the door to Epic Game Store on both services, letting Epic sell directly to customers rather than having to go through the Google Play Store or the iOS app store at all. This allows developers who want to launch their own store not be beholden to the official store’s ratings or updates.
3. Apple and Epic are vulnerable to anti-monopoly changes
The overall biggest result, however, is that it shows that immovable objects can indeed be moved by unstoppable forces. While Epic’s battle has been overall quixotic for their own benefit, the point proven overall is a salient one. By challenging the status quo of these stores, Epic has shown that they can be molded for the betterment of developers who want to put games on them. This goes for both the larger company decision-makers and individual developers making independent games on mobile platforms.
While the mobile software industry is still relatively nascent, there are bound to be more changes than things that stay the same in both technology and policy. This is just one step in an ever-evolving process.
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