Google and Apple announced that they are removing the famous Fortnite game from the Play Store and the App Store respectively after Epic Games, the company that developed the video game, allowed users to make purchases directly from the game app, which helps it avoid the 30% tax imposed by Google and Apple.
Epic Games released an update where Fortnite players could make purchases directly from the game app. If these purchases had passed through the Google apps and Apple the developer would have to pay a commission of up to 30%.
Epic has taken legal action to end Apple’s anti-competitive restrictions on mobile device marketplaces. The papers are available here.
After the release of this update, Epic Games offered users discounts of up to 20% for purchases they made in the application.
“The open Android ecosystem allows developers to distribute apps through multiple app stores. For game developers who choose to use the Play Store, we have consistent policies that are fair to developers and keep the store safe for users.
Although Fortnite remains available on Android, we can no longer make it available in Play because it violates our policies. However, we welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions with Epic and bring Fortnite back to Google Play,” a Google spokesperson said.
Fortnite is also available to download on Android directly through its own Epic website.
The company also released a video parodying Apple shortly after the company decided to remove Fortnite from AppStore.
Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite – #FreeFortnite from Fortnite on Vimeo.