With Fortnite's Android Release, Epic Will Skip Google Play

Epic has shared a few more details about the upcoming Android release of Fortnite. After launching on iOS back in April, the phenomenally popular battle royale game is coming to Android devices this summer, and the developer has now revealed that the game won't be available through the Google Play store like most other games for the platform. That allows Epic to make more money on each purchase in the free-to-play game, but it means that users will have to go through a somewhat unconventional process to download and install it.

Epic confirmed to GameSpot that Android users will not be able to download Fortnite on their devices from Google's digital store, but rather through its own service. According to the developer, this decision was made in part to bypass the 30% "store tax" that would normally be applied to purchases made on Google Play.

"It's a high cost in a world where game developers' 70 per cent must cover all the cost of developing, operating, and supporting their games," Epic said. "And it's disproportionate to the cost of the services these stores perform, such as payment processing, download bandwidth, and customer service."

This stands in contrast to the iOS version of Fortnite, which is available to download right from Apple's App Store. According to Epic, it would have likewise offered Fortnite for iOS through its own website if it were able to, but the closed nature of Apple's ecosystem prevented that.

The other benefit of offering Fortnite through its own platform, Epic says, is that it allows the studio to "bring its games directly to customers." Once it rolls out for Android, users will be able to go to Epic's website and download the game from there. However, if you're hoping to play the game on Android, you'll need to have a newer handset, as Epic says the game requires a "recent high-end Android smartphone."

The iOS version of Fortnite has been a major success for Epic since it arrived on the platform back in spring. It has reportedly crossed 100 million downloads on iOS alone and rakes in $2 million per day. While Epic hasn't shared any footage of the Android version in action yet, you can take a look at how the game runs on iOS in the video above.