There is an interesting battle spinning Fortnite. No, not in Fortnite. Around. It's a fight between Epic Games and Google.
The Google Play Store has the standard 30% fee; it applies to all distributed games. Epic believes Fortnite is exempt from this rule because it is on a free-to-play system. But this is not the case.
According to this report by The Verge, Google has publicly noted that the Android platform requires publishers – any publishers – to follow the Play Store terms. He says it pays to know how Google is reinvesting in the platform to continue growing.
“Android allows multiple app developers and developer choices to distribute apps. Google Play has a business model and billing policy that allows us to invest in our platform and tools to help developers build successful businesses while keeping users safe,” a Google spokesperson explained. "We welcome any developer who recognizes the value of Google Play and expect them to participate on the same terms as other developers."
Epic replied, “Epic is not looking for a special exception for ourselves; rather, we expect a general change in smartphone industry practices in this regard. We asked Google to violate its publicly expressed expectation that products distributed through Google Play use Google's payment service for in-app purchases. We believe that this form of linking a compulsory payment service with the 30% fee is illegal in the case of a distribution platform with more than 50% market share. »
He also explained how the Google Play Developers Distribution Agreement does not obligate developers to use Google payments, but only refers to certain non-contractual documents asking developers to do so.
Google fired back, saying Epic did not seek such an exemption from Apple for the iOS version of the game. It also notes that the Play Store's ability to promote apps and provide technical testing and tools is the reason why the 30% discount is a necessity.
It doesn't look like the two companies seem ready to budge, which leaves Fortnite's future for the Play Store up in the air. For now, it looks like Epic will stay on the indie front - but we'll see if that changes.
