When Fortnite surfaced on the Google Play Store in April, many thought that Epic Games had finally accepted the app store rules imposed by Google since the popular video game was present on the Apple App Store for quite some time.
However, Epic had decided to take a surprising route yesterday, when it lowered the price of V-Bucks across all platforms. While this seems to be a great change, the lower prices are available if you purchase V-Bucks directly from Epic Games, who also introduced a dedicated payment alternative in the mobile games.
Banned from app stores
As expected, Apple and Google were less than enthusiastic about the change, and users can no longer download the game from the App Store or the Google Play Store. While Android users can sideload the app if needed, Apple has also blocked the ability to update the app if the game is already installed on your device.
Apple was the first one to ban the game from its App Store, prompting Epic Games to release an in-game video that mocks the iconic 1984 commercial that promoted the Macintosh range.
Sparking the war
Google’s Play Store rules also underline the fact that app developers have to use Google Play in-app Billing as a method of payment if they offer real-money in-app purchases. As such, Fortnite was also banned from the Google Play Store, with Google underlining that rules are available for all developers, without exception.
In response, Epic has already announced that it will sue Apple and Google for the right to use third-party payment systems for in-app purchases. It also underlined that both companies demand commissions that are too high in exchange for what they offer, and they use the guidelines to bully developers into submission.
Spotify, who also clashed with Apple and filled an anti-trust complaint in Europe, praised Epic’s initiative.
