author: Bart Swiatek
Epic Games Store Wants to Enter the Mobile Market
Epic Games Store will be available on mobile platforms. Android will get its version in first, but Tim Sweeney would like EGS to be available on iOS as well. It's worth noting that he plans something more than just a game library management app - we're talking about a store that could be an alternative to Google Play or App Store.
IN A NUTSHELL:
- Epic Games Store will go on Android, and in the future, perhaps also on iOS;
- The planned app is not a shopping and PC library management software, but a full-fledged distribution platform to provide an alternative to Google Play and the App Store.
In an interview for GameSpot, Tim Sweeney, the head of Epic Games, confirmed that the company plans to prepare a mobile version of Epic Games Store, dedicated to devices with iOS and Android systems. Interestingly, the context of the statement shows that Sweeney is not planning an application for managing our PC games library or making purchases, but a full-fledged distribution platform.
"We'd like to bring the [Epic Games] Store to iOS in the future, and we will bring it to Android," Sweeney said. "We think it's a good way to help the industry [move] forward and it's another way where Epic as a game developer had built up this audience around Fortnite and learned how to operate a distribution platform on PC and Android.
Now, as we've done with many things from the Unreal Engine to the Epic Online services, we open it up to all other developers to use with their games and are trying to serve the industry and provide a really interesting alternative to the ecosystem," said Tim Sweeney.
This isn't the first time that Epic Games' CEO has mentioned the move of EGS to mobile markets. The idea first came up in 2018. How exactly would this work, given that Android and iOS are systems largely controlled by Google and Apple? In what form will Epic offer players its application? It's hard to say, but it seems like the work on the project is in full swing - in October 2019, the Fortnite launcher on Android received an update which renamed it to official Epic Games Store app.