Fortnite Joins Third-Party Apple Stores, Leaves Samsung Store
Epic Games has announced that Fortnite will soon be available on iOS devices through AltStore PAL, a third-party app store exclusive to the European Union. The gaming studio revealed its intention to expand Fortnite’s availability to at least two other third-party stores in the near future.
In a recent blog post, Epic Games also disclosed that it will be removing Fortnite, along with Rocket League Sideswipe and Postparty, from Samsung’s Galaxy Store. This decision follows Samsung’s introduction of an ‘Auto Blocker’ feature that restricts the installation of apps from rival app stores. Despite this move, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney affirmed the company’s commitment to supporting Samsung devices.
We’ve announced our new strategy for bringing Epic’s games to mobile stores: not only the soon-to-launch Epic Games Store for mobile, but also other independent mobile stores that give all developers a fair deal, including https://t.co/wX14FI47KZ.https://t.co/mp3lq3fFbc
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) July 25, 2024
The blog post further indicated that Epic Games plans to end partnerships with mobile stores that impose unfair practices, possibly hinting at ongoing disputes with Google and Apple. While Fortnite’s launch on AltStore PAL is imminent, Epic Games did not provide a specific release date. Additionally, the company is developing its own app store for both Android and iOS platforms.
Currently, Fortnite is unavailable on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, with Android users required to download the game via Epic Games’ website. Earlier this month, Apple briefly approved the Epic Games Store but required changes to certain buttons, such as ‘install’ and ‘in-app purchase,’ citing similarities with its own App Store.