Epic's Fortnite makes triumphant return to Google Play after five years of high-stakes battle.
In a significant turn of events for the gaming world, Epic Games has announced that its hit game Fortnite is once again available on the Google Play Store in the United States. This marks a major victory for the company, which had been locked in a protracted and highly publicized dispute with Google over mobile payment policies.
The long-standing feud between Epic and Google began five years ago, when the gaming giant took issue with the tech giant's fees charged to developers for handling in-app payments and third-party billing systems. The controversy escalated into an antitrust lawsuit, pitting Epic against some of the biggest names in the industry.
However, in a major upset, Epic emerged victorious, reaching a settlement with Google last November that saw significant changes to the way apps are handled on the platform. The agreement gave developers more control over their own transactions and reduced the fees charged by Google.
The same drama played out earlier this year when Epic took Apple to court over its App Store policies, arguing that the tech giant was unfairly restricting access to payment systems. In a surprise move, US Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled in favor of Epic, ordering Apple to stop collecting commissions on purchases made outside its own store.
Following a tense standoff, Fortnite finally returned to iOS devices in the US just weeks after the ruling. With this latest development, it seems that Epic's costly battles are finally coming to an end, and the company can focus on bringing its popular game to fans around the world.
In a significant turn of events for the gaming world, Epic Games has announced that its hit game Fortnite is once again available on the Google Play Store in the United States. This marks a major victory for the company, which had been locked in a protracted and highly publicized dispute with Google over mobile payment policies.
The long-standing feud between Epic and Google began five years ago, when the gaming giant took issue with the tech giant's fees charged to developers for handling in-app payments and third-party billing systems. The controversy escalated into an antitrust lawsuit, pitting Epic against some of the biggest names in the industry.
However, in a major upset, Epic emerged victorious, reaching a settlement with Google last November that saw significant changes to the way apps are handled on the platform. The agreement gave developers more control over their own transactions and reduced the fees charged by Google.
The same drama played out earlier this year when Epic took Apple to court over its App Store policies, arguing that the tech giant was unfairly restricting access to payment systems. In a surprise move, US Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled in favor of Epic, ordering Apple to stop collecting commissions on purchases made outside its own store.
Following a tense standoff, Fortnite finally returned to iOS devices in the US just weeks after the ruling. With this latest development, it seems that Epic's costly battles are finally coming to an end, and the company can focus on bringing its popular game to fans around the world.
so like epic won the battle with google and apple, but what about all those other countries where fortnite is still missing? i mean, it's been five years since it was removed from google play, and we're just now seeing it come back... it seems a bit slow to me 
. also, i'm not sure if anyone's even playing fortnite anymore - the game has changed so much over the years, and the competition in gaming is way more fierce than when it first came out 
. maybe epic should focus on updating the game for newer consoles instead? 
.
? But seriously, it's awesome to see Epic come out on top after all the drama. Maybe this means we'll see more games like Fortnite available on Google Play in the future 
.
Data point:** Here's a quick ASCII art summary of the situation:
and google has to change their game 
i think it's good for developers like epic who want control over their transactions 
because it's all about competition right? 
gotta respect epic for standing up to google and apple 
hopefully we can see more games like this coming out in the future 
anyway gotta admit, its kinda satisfying to see epic finally back in the game 
i remember when it first came out and all my friends were talking about how much they loved it... i tried to join in but my parents didn't let me get a console lol. so now i'm gonna be able to play with them online again! 
Fortnite is back baby! 
I'm so stoked that Epic Games was able to win this epic battle (pun intended) against Google 
. Five years of drama and now it's all about bringing the game back to the masses 
! #FortniteIsBack #EpicVictory #GamingWin