Epic Games, the makers of the worldwide hit game Fortnite, are bringing the Epic Game Store back to Apple’s iOS in Europe after a lengthy antitrust dispute with the tech giant.
In an announcement on Friday (Feb.16), Epic Games confirmed the arrival of the Epic Games Store to iOS in Europe, due to provisions in the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
We are bringing more opportunities to developers across all platforms and we’re so excited about what’s to come.… including bringing the Epic Games Store to iOS in Europe.
🚨 Dev account secured, let’s go! https://t.co/mZTvTLTbr9
— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) February 16, 2024
The video game digital distribution service which has titles like Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto V, Rocket League, and more, is preparing for the launch to take place this year.
The move was initially announced on X, with the Epic Games Newsroom account stating there’ll be “more opportunities to developers across all platforms,” with a look at what’s to come: “…including bringing the Epic Games Store to iOS in Europe.”
Expanding further in a yearly roundup blog on the Epic Games Store website, the company announced the Swedish arm of the company will operate the store and Fortnite in Europe. The Store team will be leading development.
This will be the first time the company has launched on iOS since Epic Games took Fortnite off the App Store in 2020 due to Apple’s policy of charging up to 30% commission on sales.
Epic Game’s Founder and CEO Tim Sweeney stated: “I’ll be the first to acknowledge a good faith move by Apple amidst our cataclysmic antitrust battle, in granting Epic Games Sweden AB a developer account for operating Epic Games Store and Fortnite in Europe under the Digital Markets Act.”
This addition to iOS will be accessible to all users in the EU. It will not be available in the UK unless the Digital Markets Bill sees similar provisions to those in the EU Act.
The Digital Markets Act is the EU’s law which has made this move possible. Passed in 2022, the DMA will focus on large online platforms that act as ‘gatekeepers’ in digital markets, making sure these platforms behave in a ‘fair way online.’ This Digital Markets Act is one of the centerpieces of the European digital strategy.
Updates to the Epic Games Store in 2024
Epic Games also shared more planned updates and upgrades for the Epic Games Store in 2024. This includes a wholly new Download Manager which should be out in the early part of the year. This will allow users to schedule downloads, reorder queues, and control timing with updates.
The team has shared they’ll be focusing on making significant improvements to Offline Mode as well as social improvement, pre-loading for pre-purchases, subscription support, and dynamic bundles.
Featured Image: Epic Games
