Google Bans Fortnite From Google Play

I was hoping Android wouldn’t get dragged into this mess, but because rules are rules, the following has happened.

Fortnite has been banned from Google Play, at least until it scales back its most recent update in which Epic Games, the developer behind one of the world’s most popular games, introduced a way to bypass Google Play’s payments system, and instead, allow users to directly pay Epic for in-game items.

This move takes away Google’s 30% cut on in-app purchases, which companies like Apple and Google are probably not fans of. If you missed it, Apple banned Fortnite from its app store today, which led Epic Games to sue Apple. Eh, what a mess.

In a statement, Google said the following.

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. 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.

As I said, this ban will likely only continue if Epic Games proceeds to bypass Google’s 30% fee on Google Play. In the meantime, you can still download Fortnite for Android directly from Epic Games.

Greed and money, amirite?

// The Verge