Gamespot recently kicked off a gaming event called Play for All, and during this event, the website interviewed Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games. In this interview, it was revealed that Tim still plans to bring the Epic Games Store to Android, something we first learned about back in 2018. Seeing that over the last two years the studio has changed its stance on listing games on the Google Play Store, it stands to reason that Epic’s and Google’s relationship isn’t the best, so it’s nice to confirm that the studio still plans to bring the Epic Games Store to Android.
Epic’s relationship with Google has been filled with turmoil ever since the studio decided to launch the Android version of Fortnite as a stand-alone release through its own website, cutting out Google and the 30% cut it would take from all in-game sales if the title were listed on the Play Store. This publicized outsting from Epic was then met by Google’s report that the stand-alone version of Fortnite’s installer contained a security flaw, proving precisely why listing third-party APKs can be dangerous, something Epic had been warned about in advance of the game’s release. A few months later, Epic was at it again, but this time it was erroneously calling Google’s 30% cut on the Play Store illegal.
Following Epic’s security goof with the Fortnite installer and the false labeling of illegal activity, the studio eventually gave in and released the game on the Play Store.
When considering all of this absurd turmoil between Epic and Google, it’s easy to understand why many of us would be questioning whether Epic still planned to bring the Epic Games Store to Android. This is why Gamespot’s recent interview with Tim Sweeney is so relevant.
In an interview that kicked off GameSpot’s Play For All summer gaming event, Sweeney spoke about the EGS’s success, the difficulties releasing a competitor to the massively popular Steam, how cross-play can be a boon for the industry, and much more. During the interview, we asked Sweeney if he had any goals for the EGS in the future, which is when he brought up mobile devices.
“We’d like to bring the [Epic Games] Store to iOS in the future, and we will bring it to Android,” Sweeney said. “We think it’s a good way to help the industry [move] forward and it’s another way where Epic as a game developer had built up this audience around Fortnite and learned how to operate a distribution platform on PC and Android
As you can see, not only has Sweeney confirmed that Epic still plans to bring its game store to Android, but he’s also confirmed that doing so would be a good way to move the industry forward. Now, I’m not one to take a CEO’s words to heart, but I think this is a good sign of things to come, which is nice to see after so much ridiculousness.
