Will more third-party storefronts follow?
Epic Games has announced plans to launch the Epic Games Store on iOS devices here in Australia, likely prompting more third-party storefronts on the platform.
“The Epic Games Store and Fortnite will come to iOS in Australia,” Epic Games said in a statement. “An Australian court just found that Apple and Google abuse their control over app distribution and in-app payments to limit competition. There are 2,000+ pages of findings that we’ll need to dig into to fully understand the details. This is a WIN for developers and consumers in Australia!”
Fortnite itself was pulled from both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store back in 2020 after Epic Games offered players its own in-app payment system that bypassed those of Apple and Google. Epic replied to the ban with lawsuits in multiple jurisidictions, and the ability to offer its Epic Games Store on iOS and Android devices is a result of successful suits.
Speaking with The Guardian following the results of the Australian suits, a spokesperson for Google said the court identified the “stark difference between Android’s open platform and Apple’s closed system” but disagreed on “the court’s characterisation of our billing policies and practices, as well as its findings regarding some of our historical partnerships, which were all shaped in a fiercely competitive mobile landscape on behalf of users and developers”.
The Epic Games Store has been available on European iOS devices alongside worldwide Android devices since 2024. We’ll let you know when the storefront (and game) is available here on iOS devices in Australia.
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