Epic Games Store might come to both Android, iOS

Epic Games plans to get its game store on both the Google Play Store and on the Apple App Store

While Epic Games had to give in to get Fortnite to the Google Play Store, it might now be looking at a one-up by bringing the Epic Games store to mobile. (Epic Games)

Epic Games is one of the biggest names in the industry and the company is known not just for the titles but also for the epic Unreal Engine that many, many other games use. And this kind reputation has given Epic Games enough industry clout to be heard on issues like revenue splitting and app stores.

While Epic Games had to give in to get Fortnite to the Google Play Store, it might now be looking at a one-up by bringing the Epic Games store to mobile.

If this comes through, this is Epic's second attack and Google and the Google Play Store system. Epic Games did not agree with the 30% store tax that Google levies on paid apps, though ironically, they seemed to have no issues paying that to Apple for the iOS App Store.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney had reasoned that it was fair for Apple to charge that because of the innovations and security measures it puts in place for the App Store. That's something that cannot be controlled on the Play Store thanks to the vast and incongruous Android ecosystem.

If Epic Games manages to bring its store to Android and iOS, that's going to be big. The intention behind this, as Sweeney explains, is an “interesting alternative” to what currently exists. What he means by this is essentially a different kind of revenue sharing that will give developers a larger sum of money overall.

Epic itself does not have too many mobile games of its own, the Unreal Engine, however, continues to compete with Unity 3D both on desktops and mobile.

Epic Games Store on mobile could clash with many security policies these app stores have in place. Apple, for one, does not allow any third-party store on its App Store. Google has a more relaxed policy for the Play Store but it often tags apps that have been downloaded from outside the Play Store as suspicious and potentially harmful.