The CEO of Fortnite developer Epic Games, Tim Sweeney, has lashed out at Google after the technology company shared a security flaw in the game’s Android iteration.
Google, perhaps in retaliation to Epic’s decision to publish Fortnite outside of the Google Play storefront, shared data on how hackers could access the game’s custom installer in order to upload malware. Sweeney called the notification irresponsible.
“Android is an open platform. When Google identified a security flaw, we worked around the clock (literally) to fix it and release an update,” Sweeney tweeted.
“We asked Google to hold the disclosure until the update was more widely installed. They refused, creating an unnecessary risk for Android users in order to score cheap PR points.”
Security experts argue that Fortnite‘s security issues would have been mitigated by publishing the game to the Google Play Store… and it’s likely Epic chose not to because it would then be forced share 30% of the game’s revenue with Google. Regardless of financial benefit, Sweeney labelled Google’s move “irresponsible”.
“The only irresponsible thing here is Google’s rapid public release of technical details,” Sweeney said.
If you’ve got the Android version of Fortnite, go and grab its latest installer here and patch said security flaw.
Fortnite is currently available on Windows PC, Xbox One, PS4, Switch, iOS and Android.
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