As soon as we talked about the best games for smartphones and cite Fortnite as an example, what has come that everyone has been waiting for. Finally, Epic Games was able to negotiate with Google and release its famous Fortnite action movie on Google Play. Now the game can be downloaded officially and there is no need to suffer with installation. This will no doubt be good news for fans. On the other hand, they already have the game. So who will benefit from this? Epic Games, Google, someone else? In fact, it is beneficial to everyone, but why did it happen so late, when the popularity of the game gradually began to decline?
One of the most popular smartphone games in history.
Why Fortnite didn't come out for Android for a long time, but was on iOS
In the early days, Fortnite was only released for iOS. Many were waiting for the appearance of the game on Google Play, but this did not happen. The company later announced that it would not release such a version and would limit itself to distributing the installation file on its website.
This is due to the fact that the company did not want to pay 30 percent of Google's internal purchases, given that in the first two weeks of the game's presence in the AppStore, the company earned $ 15 million. In this case, a third of the income already begins to seem like something really impressive.
There was no other choice for iOS and games can be distributed there only through the AppStore. But in the case of Android the situation is different. Any application can be downloaded as an installation file and no one will pay Google royalties. Our Alexander Bogdanov told how to do it. Given the monetary loss to Google, it's no surprise the company wants to move away from this practice. Developers understand that 30 percent for payment processing is a lot. Here's the answer to why Fortnite wasn't on Google Play.
Download Fortnite for Android
The presence of the game for Google Play will reduce the installation via APK to almost zero. That is, it is not necessary to say that Epic Games plans to continue distributing the game through the site. So they somehow made an agreement with Google.
Previously, you could only play this way by installing the game from the studio's website.
Of course, the presence of the game in the official store will increase the number of downloads, but personally I doubt that the growth will be proportional to the amount of royalties. After all, this game is played by active users who already know how to install applications without Google Play.
It has been 18 months since the release of this free game, from which the studio earns through in-game purchases. During this time, the level of its popularity has leveled off a bit and it has become easier to negotiate with its developers. And it became easier for the studio itself to agree to royalties when they already made a lot of money.
But perhaps the most important factor was that Google did not directly ban the installation of third-party applications, but actively explains to users that this is very dangerous.
“Google is putting download software outside of Google Play at a disadvantage with technical and business measures like scary security pop-ups for downloaded and updated software. The notifications characterize third-party software sources as malware. Google is also taking steps to block non-Google Play apps. Because of this, we launched Fortnite for Android on the Google Play Store, 'an Epic Games spokesperson said in a statement.
Is it dangerous to install apps via APK
Of course, there really is a danger of installing applications via installation files. Even if you do not install everything in a row, attackers can still slip you a malicious file with the desired name under the guise of the required software.
Installing third-party games can be dangerous, you have to be careful.
In part in this respect, Google is doing the right thing when it prevents users from betting everything. But the moderation of Google Play is at such a level that not a week goes by without a Trojan or other malicious application being found there.
Of course, installing applications from the branded store is good and convenient, but there are still disadvantages. Now Epic Games is unhappy that it had to back down. She expresses the hope that Google will treat its partners better and stop putting a spoke in their wheels.
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'We hope that Google will revise its policies and business relationships in the near future so that all developers can communicate freely with customers on Android and the Play Store and engage in trade through open services, including payment services that can compete on a level playing field, '' Epic Game said in a statement.
Google has not given official comments on this yet. On the other hand, what can she say if such a system worked for many years and everyone tacitly agreed with the rules of the game? Most likely, Epic Games will put up with what is happening and will deduct its interest. After all, they don't resent the action Apple. There is simply no choice and that's it.