Fortnite mobile has been removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store after publisher Epic Games violated the policy on direct payments for the App Store and Google Play Store. Epic Games announced permanent discounts on the game’s in-game currency ‘V-Bucks’ across all platforms if users paid using the new ‘Epic direct payment‘ method earlier today on Fortnite’s website.
About Epic direct payment method
Epic Games announced earlier today that users can save up to 20 per cent when buying in-game currency ‘V-Bucks‘ through their ‘Epic direct payment method’, permanently. In this way, players can bypass the 30 per cent commission Google and Apple take on all purchases through Google Play and App Store. For example, currently, players pay $9.99 for 1,000 V-Bucks, but through “Epic direct payment” this bundle will cost only $7.99.
However, if Apple and Google reconsider their payment policies in the future, Epic Games will pass the companies savings on to the players, they said.
Currently, when using Apple and Google payment options, Apple and Google collect a 30% fee, and the up to 20% price drop does not apply. If Apple or Google lower their fees on payments in the future, Epic will pass along the savings to you.
EPIC GAMes official website
Why has Fortnite been removed from the App Store & Google Play?
The primary reason behind Fortnite being removed from App Store and Google Play Store is that Epic Games violated their direct payment guidelines after launching this 30% cutoff rate with the new Epic direct payment method.
Removal from App Store
Apple said in a statement to The Verge that it plans to work with Epic Games to “resolve these violations” and bring Fortnite back to App Store but that it has no intention to create a “special arrangement” for the company. However, it doesn’t look like this will be resolved anytime soon as Epic has filed a legal complaint against Apple after Fornite was removed from the App Store.
Today, Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users. As a result their Fortnite app has been removed from the store. Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services.
APPLE’s statement on fortnite’s removal from APP Store
Removal from Google Play Store
After Apple kicked Fortnite off the App Store, Epic sued Apple, and finally, Epic Games released an in-game video parodying Apple’s 1984 macintosh commercial, positioning Apple itself as the monopolist. A few hours later, Google joined hands with Apple and removed Fortnite from Google Play Store too. Google, however, said that they’d have a discussion with Epic Games and welcome Fortnite back to the Play Store. However, after suing Apple after Fortnite’s removal from App Store, Epic has now also taken Google to court after the game was removed from Google Play Store as well.
The open Android ecosystem lets developers 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. While Fortnite remains available on Android, we can no longer make it available on Play because it violates our policies. However, we welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions with Epic and bring Fortnite back to Google Play.
Google’s statement after removing fortnite from Google Play STore
Final thoughts on Fortnite being removed from App Store & Google Play
As of right now, users who have already downloaded Fortnite on iOS from App Store are still able to access the game. Only new downloads are disabled as a result of Fortnite being removed from the App Store. As per reports, users who have already downloaded the game can even buy V-Bucks through Epic’s direct payment method as of now. It’s still undecided how it will function in the future.
Android users can still download Fortnite through Epic’s own website or the Samsung Galaxy store for Samsung users. But it will be available on Google Play for violating their policies. However, we’ve to wait and watch as the feud between Epic Games and two of the world’s top software companies builds up, even going to the US courts at this point.
What are your thoughts on Fortnite being removed from the App Store & Google Play Store? Let us know in the comment section below!
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