'Fortnite': Google Will Lose Big Money From Game Bypassing the Play Store
That's a lot of V-Bucks.
Samsung and Epic Games revealed their partnership to start the Fortnite: Battle Royale Android beta on the Korean tech company’s devices on Thursday. The game is currently available via the Galaxy Apps store and not Google Play, which means Google will miss out on a lot of money.
Analytics firm Sensor Tower estimated on Friday Google will lose out on $50 million in fees for 2018 due to Epic’s decision of keeping Fortnite: Battle Royale off of the search giant’s app store. Even though the game is free-to-play, the money would come in the form of a 30 percent “store” fee on the various in-game purchases of V-Bucks, the currency used to buy various cosmetics in the game and is the source of Fortnite: Battle Royale being a $1 billion game. Some Android phone users found ways to install the game without using the Galaxy App store, and Google has a warning show up when trying to install it.
Last week, Epic President Tim Sweeney explained in an interview how the “store” fee was the reason the developer would keep Fortnite: Battle Royale off of Google Play. He confirmed Epic would do the same for the iOS version of the game if the option was available.
On Thursday, Samsung held its Unpacked Event to reveal the Galaxy Note 9. During the presentation, Sweeney took the stage to announce the start of the Fortnite: Battle Royale Android beta starting first on Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets. Those who purchase the upcoming Note 9 and Tab S4 will also receive 15,000 V-Bucks and an exclusive Galaxy skin.
Samsung Galaxy device owners can enjoy the Fortnite: Battle Royale now. Other Android smartphone owners can sign up for a beta invite via Epic’s website and receive access sometime in the near future.
It hasn’t been all sunshine and Slurp Juices for Samsung Galaxy users. A “waiting list” error started showing up causing players to not log into the game, but Epic did confirm there’s a fix.
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