Why Epic Games is pulling Fortnite from the Samsung Galaxy store

Epic Games has decided to remove it from the Samsung Galaxy Store or, say, any other “rent collector” store and expand to other mobile storefronts amidst the “protest of Samsung's anticompetitive decision to block side-loading by default”

These aim to provide developers with more favourable terms and reduce reliance on platforms that impose high fees without robust competition.

Why this decision?

Epic Games shared its intention in a recent blogpost to bring its mobile games, including Fortnite, to “other mobile stores that give all developers a great deal.”

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The company plans to end partnerships with mobile stores that it believes act as “rent collectors” and do not compete fairly or serve all developers equitably, even “if those stores offer us [Epic Games] a special deal for our own games.”

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney posted on X (formerly Twitter), “We've announced our new strategy for bringing Epic's games to mobile stores: not only the soon-to-launch Epic Games Store for mobile, but also other independent mobile stores that give all developers a fair deal, including http://AltStore.io.”

Also, Epic plans to announce support for “at least two other third-party stores” shortly. The company is also preparing to launch its own Epic Games Store app on Android globally and on iOS in the EU soon.

Fortnite and other Epic games will be removed from the Samsung Galaxy Store

This decision comes in response to Samsung's recent policy change, which blocks “sideloading” of apps by default on new Samsung Android devices. While users can disable this function, Epic views the default setting as anticompetitive and marks a shift from the earlier collaboration between Epic and Samsung, which included offering an exclusive themed skin in Fortnite for Samsung Galaxy owners in 2019.

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Despite this, relations between the two companies remain somewhat positive. In a tweet, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney reassured that Epic will “continue to support Samsung devices fully and wholeheartedly now and in the future.”

He also guided the gamers how they can how they can restore their Fortnite save and sync everything as new: “First, Uninstall the Samsung Galaxy Store version of Fortnite from your Android device, then go to http://Fortnite.com and use the button on the upper right to install the Epic Games Launcher and Fortnite. No game progress will be lost.”

Tim Sweeney has been a vocal critic of major storefronts like the App Store and Google Play, which take a 30% revenue cut from developers in recent months.