Epic wants to bring its games “to other mobile app stores”, and says its own iOS Games Store will launch in the EU soon.
In a post on X, the company said its iOS Games Store has been submitted to Apple for approval and notarization, and that it hoped to launch the store in the EU in the “next couple months”.
More surprisingly, though, it also said it wants to bring its games to “other mobile app stores”, saying: “We want to talk with all stores that offer great terms to all developers”.
It may or may not be a coincidence that Microsoft is planning to launch its games-focused Xbox app store in July. In 2022, Epic struck a deal with Microsoft to bring Fortnite back to iOS and Android through Xbox Cloud, and Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney is known fan of how Microsoft treats developers (compared to Apple and Google, at least).
Epic could also be referring to the other mobile app stores on available on Android, including ones run by Amazon, Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi and Aptoide.
New laws passed to open up app stores to greater competition have also allowed Epic bring its Games Store – and Fortnite – to the UK and Japan next year. But as Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney noted recently on X, there’s still no legislation forcing Apple to open up in the US.
“This is the new free world, from the point of view of app developers and users,” he said on X. “It’s a big club and we ain’t in it: The United States of America is still locked behind Apple’s Iron Curtain.”
The Epic Games Store’s EU launch has already been the source of plenty of drama. In March, Apple terminated Epic’s developer account the day before the EU’s Digital Markets Act was set to come into effect.
In letters between Apple exec Phil Schiller and Epic boss Tim Sweeney, cheekily released by Epic, Schiller accused Epic of not being trustworthy enough to follow Apple’s developer guidelines, having deliberately breached them before.
A few days later, after a firestorm of online criticism and public pressure from the EU, the tech giant reinstated Epic Games Sweden’s account. Epic later re-confirmed its intentions to release its Game Store and Fortnite in the EU by the end of 2024.
