Epic Games Store will come pre-installed on Android phones

Telefónica, one of the world’s largest operators, is preparing to offer the Epic Games Store platform pre-installed on millions of Android phones. The operator, which operates the O2 and Movistar networks, will integrate the store and devices that support popular games such as Fortnite within the scope of the new collaboration. This deal also covers Samsung phones.

According to the statement made by Epic Games and Telefónica, this “long-term partnership” is a critical step for Epic Games Store to expand its user base and increase its revenue share in the gaming world as an alternative application store to Google Play. This move will enable the Epic Games Store to be pre-installed on consumer phones for the first time.

This initiative by Epic Games is part of its efforts to break Google’s monopoly on the application store. Last year, a federal jury ruled in favor of Epic in Epic Games’ lawsuit against Google, finding that Google operated an illegal monopoly on the Android app store and Google Play billing service. In the lawsuit it filed in 2020, Epic claimed that Google offered incentives to phone manufacturers and operators to prevent games such as Fortnite and alternative app stores from being pre-installed on phones.

However, after Judge James Donato banned Google from offering such blocks and incentives in November this year, the fact that a major operator such as Telefónica preloaded the Epic Games Store on devices was a significant gain for Epic.

Telefónica is not among the operators promoted by Google. This happened regardless of the impact of Judge Donato’s decision, according to Epic Games spokesperson Natalie Muñoz. Telefónica’s partnership with Epic is not new; In 2020, Movistar introduced a system that allowed its customers to add Fortnite in-game purchases to their phone bills. It was stated that within the scope of this agreement, Telefónica received a five percent share of the game revenues.

Samsung’s attitude towards Telefónica’s preloading of the Epic Games Store on its phones is a matter of curiosity. Epic also filed a lawsuit against Samsung last September.

Epic Games Store came to mobile devices last year

The full version of the Epic Games Store for mobile devices was first made available in August 2023. Epic had previously developed various application installers to install Fortnite on phones and made agreements with brands such as Samsung, LG, OnePlus and Huawei. However, uploads were limited among these brands due to the influence of Google.

This new agreement with Telefónica will strengthen Epic Games Store’s presence in the mobile ecosystem and enable it to reach a wider user base. On the other hand, it is currently unclear whether other operators such as Verizon and Hutchison will take similar steps.

This move by Epic Games has the potential to increase competition among mobile application stores and provide more options for users.