Epic’s Game Store is bringing Fortnite back to Google Play
Following an appeals court victory on Thursday, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney tweeted that “the Epic Games Store for Android will be coming to the Google Play Store.” This is despite Google’s plan to appeal the Ninth Circuit panel’s decision, which declined to overturn a 2023 jury verdict that Google’s app store and payment system had become illegal monopolies.
There’s no detail yet on timing, but it would make accessing Fortnite and other Epic-distributed games much simpler on Android devices, without relying on sideloading or making deals with phone manufacturers to preload the store. On iPhone and iPad, the mobile version of the Epic Games Store is still only available in the European Union, but Android users could sideload it from the web since the apps launched last fall.
Epic may not be the only company to put a rival app store inside of Google’s Play Store in the near future. The Ninth Circuit appears to have lifted a stay on the entire permanent injunction that Epic won against Google’s app store monopolies, and that injunction would force Google to crack open Android for other third-party stores as well. “The stay is lifted,” Epic spokesperson Cat McCormack confirms to The Verge.
The Epic Games Store on Android maintains your persistent status in games across platforms, and earlier this year, the company brought its weekly free games program to the mobile stores, too. It also has other Epic games, like Fall Guys and Rocket League Sideswipe.
In a statement provided to The Verge, Google’s global head of regulatory affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland said, “This decision will significantly harm user safety, limit choice, and undermine the innovation that has always been central to the Android ecosystem. Our top priority remains protecting our users, developers and partners, and maintaining a secure platform as we continue our appeal.”