After being kicked out of Apple's walled garden four years ago for violating App Store policies, Epic Games built its own digital storefront for European customers.
Under the European Digital Markets Act, Apple is obliged to provide access to third-party app stores on mobile devices, and while there used to be only one Apple way (apologies to Microsoft's smug address), there are now at least five alternative iOS app stores in the EU.
These include AltStore PAL, Aptoide, Mobivention, and SetApp Mobile.
The latest addition, the Epic Games Store, now gives European iOS users access to entertainment titles such as Fortnite, Rocket League Sideswipe and Fall Guys. Epic offers its iOS titles on AltStore PAL and will soon be available on Aptoide's iOS store.
Additionally, the Epic Games Store will be available to Android users worldwide, which is preferable to launching a rival iOS store: the Android ecosystem has supported third-party stores for years and embraces sideloading (something Apple frowns on), and Android's ONE Store will also carry Epic's games.
Installing the Epic Games Store on iOS in the EU is a fairly complicated process, requiring multiple steps, as shown in this video. Epic says this is because “Apple and Google intentionally introduced a poor installation experience, including multiple steps, confusing device setup, and scary screens,” and that they're pursuing the issue in court.
Fortnite has been unavailable on iOS since 2020, when Apple banned the game for violating App Store guidelines and Epic sued Apple in the United States.
While the game maker has only won one of its 10 lawsuits against Apple, and that one has yet to be resolved after numerous appeals, Epic's legal campaign to cut the platform's gatekeepers off its revenue streams has been surprisingly successful.
Epic won a more substantial victory against Google and its Android app store rules last December: its competition challenge against Google in Australia ended in July and is currently awaiting a ruling. This gatekeeper revolt against the web giant has also been too much to ignore for competition authorities around the world, some of which have since launched investigations or filed antitrust lawsuits against Apple and Google.
But rocking the platform boat came at a cost: Epic not only implemented layoffs last year affecting about 870 people, or 16% of the company, but also reportedly lost about $1 billion in revenue.
For developers, the Epic Game Store offers better financial terms than Apple's App Store, with a 30% commission rate (15% for smaller developers), a 12% store fee on payments processed by Epic, and no fees on third-party payments.
But the math becomes less compelling when you add in the fees Apple charges for this platform heresy, specifically fees for external payment processing or distribution. These fees vary depending on whether the developer is using the Alternative Terms for Apps in the EU Supplement or the StoreKit External Purchase Link Rights (EU) Supplement. They include an initial acquisition fee (5%), a store service fee (10/20 percent or 7 percent for App Store Small Business Program participants or auto-renewable subscriptions after one year), and a core technology fee (0.50 euros) for every install after the first million.
Still, Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney seems pleased with how things are going.
“The tide is turning and the mobile ecosystem is finally opening up to competition,” he said in a statement. “We're grateful to the European Commission for enabling us to launch the Epic Games Store and make our games available to iOS users in the European Union. Now, iOS users in Europe and all Android users can access our store and games as they always have on open platforms like PC and Mac.”
“The battle is not over yet, but this is tangible progress that can begin to reap the benefits of competition and choice for developers and consumers.”®
