On Friday Fortnite was removed from the Google Play store and the Apple App Store. Some Samsung users may not be able to see it on the Galaxy Store but it is still available.
Correction: A previous version of this story said that Fortnite had been removed from the Samsung Galaxy store. We regret the error.
Fortnite is removed by Google and Apple
Fortnite was booted from both platforms for enabling players to purchase V-Bucks directly from Epic Games. To make this option more attractive for players, Epic offered a 20 per cent discount if they paid in this way.
This enabled them to bypass the in-app payment methods of both platforms. This also meant that both platforms wouldn’t get their 30 per cent cut of all in-app purchases.
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Google and Apple stated this move violated their store guidelines and promptly removed the game. Since then Epic announced that it will be suing Apple, but we’re yet to find out whether it will also be going after Google.
“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,” Apple said in a statement.
Google’s response was similar.
“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,” Google said in an email to Gizmodo Australia.
“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.”
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Fortnite hasn’t been removed from the Galaxy Store
This blow isn’t quite so bad for Android users. This is because Android allows third-party installations of apps and games.
Both the Epic Games App and Samsung Galaxy Store are listed as ways to download Fortnite on the Epic Games store.
However, when we clicked on it it went to a dead page. A second source also tried this and got the same result.
“This content isn’t available on your phone anymore,” the message reads.
As it turns out, this may be due to the fact the tests were being run on Samsung Note 20 devices, which are yet to be released.
Both devices also failed to show search results for the Epic Games app or Fortnite on the Samsung Galaxy store.
Interestingly, the Galaxy Store button doesn’t always appear for all users on mobile.
A Samsung representative has confirmed the Epic Games app is appearing in the Galaxy Store when tested with an S20. They also stated that the Note 20 will get a day one update that will allow the devices to access Fortnite again once the phone has been officially released.