Epic Games begrudgingly brings 'Fortnite' to Google Play Store

Image courtesy of Epic Games

Epic Games finally caved and brought Fortnite to the Google Play Store, but they aren't exactly pleased with it. When the game launched on mobile in 2018, the developer notably sidestepped the Play Store and asked users to download the title right from its website to avoid Google's substantial 30% revenue cut from in-app purchases of Play Store downloads. And with Fortnite being a popular free-to-play game when it launched, it would have lost significant income from the game. 

After 18 months of the company's harsh rhetoric when it comes to Google's gatekeeping, Fortnite is on the Play Store, while also still available through fortnite.com. 

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Epic Games reportedly paid US$10 million for 'Control' exclusive

Ever wondered how much it cost Epic Games to have exclusive access to Control on the PC? A new report has the numbers. And if it's accurate, the total amounts to €9.49 million (approx. US$10 million or around CA$13 million). The numbers were discovered in a recent financial report by Control's parent company 505 Games, Digital Bros. The story is in full Italian, but ComicBook claims it looks legitimate. 

Either way, it shows that Epic Games is willing to pay a handsome amount for exclusivity for its PC storefront. What isn't known is if it'll eventually show up on other stores. The possibility that this is sort of a timed-exclusivity agreement is there with the game may be showing up on other storefronts after the deal is over. The game is also available on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Ubisoft will be releasing ‘The Division 2’ exclusively on Epic Games Store

If you want to get your hands on The Division 2, you won’t find the game on Steam when it launches on March 15. Instead, Ubisoft struck a deal with Epic to release the game exclusively on its Games Store. In the meantime, all the other Ubisoft titles are still available on Valve’s Steam. But it looks like the developer wants to test the response on this new distribution platform. Epic has a more generous revenue sharing model versus Steam, with hopes of drawing more developers to launch on its platform. Valve’s current deal gives developers 70% of each sale and goes up from there, while Epic offers developers 88% from the start.

In a statement to Polygon, Ubisoft’s Chris Early said, “Epic continues to disrupt the videogame industry, and their third party digital distribution model is the latest example, and something Ubisoft wants to support.” Early said they planned to release more games on the latter’s store, but didn’t specify if these will be exclusive. That probably depends on how well the games do on the service. What Steam has going for it is its wider reach, but if developers keep flocking to Epic’s store, then that might eventually tip the dynamic.

Source: Slash Gear

Epic delays release of latest 'Fortnite' patch, including new Driftboard vehicle

After teasing the existence of a new snowboard-like vehicle it’s calling a Driftboard, Epic Games had to delay the release of said vehicle as well as an upcoming patch for Fortnite. The developer found a bug with the Driftboard, thus delaying the plans for its release. It was supposed to arrive with the patch v7.10 set to go live on Tuesday morning. But those plans also got sidetracked. Epic announced that there’s a larger issue with patch itself, so they’re delaying that release as well. It isn’t clear though if Epic plans to release these two together as originally planned. But we’ll keep you posted if we hear any news.

Source: Polygon