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Epic Games Launches Fortnite on the Google Play Store But It's Not Happy About It (techcrunch.com) 63

Posted by msmash from the how-about-that dept.
Epic Games is finally settling its feud -- kind of -- with Google and putting Fornite onto the Google Play Store, but the studio sounds pretty pissed about it. From a report: When Fortnite launched on mobile in 2018, Epic Games very notably sidestepped the Google Play Store and pushed users to download the title directly from their website, an effort made to avoid the substantial revenue cuts that Google takes from in-app purchases of Play Store downloads. After 18 months of harsh rhetoric regarding platform gatekeeping, Epic Games says that Fortnite is now available for download on the Google Play Store, though it will still be downloadable from fortnite.com moving forward.

"Google puts software downloadable outside of Google Play at a disadvantage, through technical and business measures such as scary, repetitive security pop-ups for downloaded and updated software, restrictive manufacturer and carrier agreements and dealings, Google public relations characterizing third party software sources as malware, and new efforts such as Google Play Protect to outright block software obtained outside the Google Play store,: an Epic Games spokesperson said in a statement. "Because of this, we've launched Fortnite for Android on the Google Play Store."
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Epic Games Launches Fortnite on the Google Play Store But It's Not Happy About It More

Epic Games Launches Fortnite on the Google Play Store But It's Not Happy About It

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  • This is simple. (Score:3)

    by Rockoon ( 1252108 ) on Tuesday April 21, 2020 @05:31PM (#59973712)
    Fuck Google for its tactics.

    • You sure don't know a thing about how Apple works exactly the same... Or Microsoft too...

      So, basically, in your ignorance, are saying to fuck all mobile OS for their tactics...

      • Huh? I can now not play games on Windows without paying a MS fee for ... well, being dumb enough to use their system?

        • Tried using the MS shop lately? I think you're confusing downloading shit from the internet and using a vendor service.

          • Why would anyone use the MS shop?

            That's the difference, with Windows, there is no reason to use the MS shop. And likewise, if you didn't HAVE TO use Apple Store or Google's ... whatever they call it to use software on their platforms, neither would anyone use them.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by rtb61 ( 674572 )

              Epic launcher though one giant piece of crap that tries to use 100% of CPU resources, crippling a machine until you crash the product and do not use it again. Probably fair of Google to ignore EPIC because the EPIC launcher would make Google look bad for allowing it to be downloaded (seriously one giant piece of crap, even the store is horrible, it's not like they do not have other, hundreds of thousands of online stores to copy, or that perhaps we should make sure our crap app does not use 100% of CPU at a

            • You don't HAVE TO use Google's play store either, and in fact Epic didn't for a long time and you can still side load it off their site now.

              Apple is for Apple people, most of them shouldn't be trusted with a PC.

              • ...and in fact Epic didn't for a long time....

                That's being a touch disingenuous. While you're technically correct, you're ignoring how scary Google makes it for non-technical people to do so.

                While I used to think that Google should escape antitrust prosecution due to the existence of side loading, I've changed my mind. Google is every bit as predatory with regard to Android as Microsoft has always been with Windows, as as Apple is with iOS. Google is more subtle about it, but the end result is the same.

                • I'm not ignoring it at all, I think the level of warning for side-loading things into the device that holds the keys to your banking (for most people) is pretty fucking lightweight, and if it's all too scary then you shouldn't be doing it because you're not in a position to judge the risk or take appropriate mitigations.

                • Oh come on. For every Epic, there is 10 hostile side loads. If Google had too few pop ups, they would be hammered by the parent/InfoSec crowd for making it too easy for Tommy to download North Korean pop music at $100 a pop.

                  Users do stupid things. There is no way around it. But if you did too little to stop them, that's considered way worse than the stupid thing.

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

                  iOS doesn't even allow sideloading. Your app has to go through Apple and pay them 30%, there is no other choice. And they are actually under antitrust investigation over it.

                  So no, Google allowing sideloading is not at all the same. There are vibrant, successful alternative app stores for Android and none on iOS.

      • I guess it was wrong about being simple.

        I guess I have to hold your hand.

        This is simple. Fuck Apple for its tactics also.

      • You sure don't know a thing about how Apple works exactly the same... Or Microsoft too...
        So, basically, in your ignorance, are saying to fuck all mobile OS for their tactics...

        I don't know about OP but this is EXACTLY what I'm saying. Fuck every last one of them.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sabri ( 584428 )
      You don't get it. They are doing this so they can sue at a later date.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by DrXym ( 126579 )
      Google's "tactics" are that if you use their store you abide by their rules, including the manner in which in-app purchases happen. At least Epic had the option of going outside of the store and doing its own thing. Compare that to the iPhone or any console platform where that is not the case.

      Secondly, this isn't some moral thing. This is just Epic wanting its cake and eating it. They want Google to provide services like advertising their product, hosting the binaries, doing security & signing, update

    • Re:This is simple. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Wednesday April 22, 2020 @05:39AM (#59975482)

      Fuck Google for its tactics.

      Fuck Google for letting you install what you want on your phone providing you click OK to a screen warning you *correctly* that the largest source of malware on mobile platforms comes from side-loading?
      Fuck me too please. It sounds like its the thing you want to do to people who make correct common sense decision.

      • Seriously. I don't know why GP was upmodded and this is not. I install outside the store frequently, but I'm totally ok with there being a significant warning that it's being done. Epic is just pissy that their game isn't good enough that people would flock to a separate, less convenient website and enable unknown sources to get it so they don't have to give Google a cut.

  • There's really no way for Google to win here. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Daemonik ( 171801 ) on Tuesday April 21, 2020 @05:34PM (#59973720) Homepage
    Users would crucify Google for making it too easy to install malware from 3rd party app stores. They don't want to be, and shouldn't be, held responsible for apps installed outside of the play store.

    • If you have a certificate authority, the same as we do for websites and pgp keys, then at least the malware would have to be signed by a recognizable company before a non-ignoramus installed the app. Sadly Android seems to not have the level of nuance [android.com] that Linux distributions have used for 20+ years. [jonliv.es]

      • Sadly Android seems to not have the level of nuance [android.com] that Linux distributions have used for 20+ years. [jonliv.es]

        And since Android is a linux distribution, Google must have went out of its way to not have these protections.

        It costs them money to not protect people. There is no debate here.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by gTsiros ( 205624 )

          no. android is not a linux distribution.

          were it a linux distribution i would be able to download, build and run any software written for it. As it is, i do not even have access to the system

          android is an ad delivery platform. It is not even an operating system if we go by the strict definition of hardware abstraction, process separation etc.

          and since it is an ad delivery platform, it is optimized for that and only that. Google wants control over what the programs are doing on its platform. Note, not your co

      • Nope, that only applies to upgrades of installed apps. Users today install apps all the time from shady websites (usually looking for free paid apps) and get malware with them. The signed state of the original real app doesn't matter.

        • I'm not sure if I don't understand your point, or if you stopped reading my post after the first 4 or 5 words.

          I'm suggesting that Android made a mistake in their architecture for packages. The official advice that Google give distributing outside of the Play store is bad for both publisher and user.

          One solution would have been to do signed third-party repositories. Like the Debian example I linked.
          Another option would be to have signed packages, that's a bit more obvious. But Android doesn't do it correctly

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Luthair ( 847766 )

        And the web is completely free of malware as a result? Ditto for Windows & Mac because they also have code-signing.

      • by a recognizable company

        Oh LOL. That's the funniest thing I've read all day. I guess windows malware is non-existent since binaries and installers are signed right?(sarcasm alert) It's just as well no CA has ever given a phishing site a security certificate (sarcasm alert).

        I laughed, but then I cried because I think your post was being serious.

    • Malware can still be found on the Play Store:

      https://threatpost.com/haken-m... [threatpost.com]

    • bullshit. there are a myriad of ways it could have allowed this without succumbing to the malware problem. Signing binaries being the obvious simple one which could be done by the developer or if google wished as a fee for service by them.
  • they could push for stronger anti-trust law enforcement across the board.

    But then somebody would probably ask about all that Fortnite cash that was plowed into the Epic Game Store...

    • Re:Epic's got plenty of money (Score:5, Insightful)

      by slack_justyb ( 862874 ) on Tuesday April 21, 2020 @07:13PM (#59973960)

      Exactly! The problem that Epic has with Google's store isn't that it's a monopoly. Epic is pissed because it isn't their monopoly. Corporate altruism is not a thing that exists, especially with Epic. I mean fuck Google's iron grip on Android, but shit, Epic isn't any fucking better here. Both of them are shining examples of how shit the tech industry is getting.

      I mean, could you imagine Epic having a mobile phone platform? "You're receiving a call! You can take this call in high quality audio for only 500 Epic mobile points! For skip free call quality pay only 250 Epic mobile points! For a limited time have both for only 670 Epic mobile points! Oh looks like your call went to voice mail, store it for longer than ten minutes for only 170 Epic mobile points!"

      • I mean, could you imagine Epic having a mobile phone platform? "You're receiving a call!

        No you won't because that external call will be locked by a 1 month exclusive deal before you're allowed to answer it.

  • So, who do I side with here? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SuricouRaven ( 1897204 ) on Tuesday April 21, 2020 @05:52PM (#59973780)

    The controlling corporate giant that is turning money into power and power into money? Or the game studio that has only made one hit game in the last fifteen years, and did so much to legitimize the practice of microtransactions and lootboxes in gaming? They both represent negative trends in the industry.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Xylantiel ( 177496 )
      One of the few times I tried to give Epic money, they wouldn't take it! They locked credit card transactions on the epic account and never replied to my many inquiries. I could only pay through the Apple store, where Apple takes a cut! So they went through all this trouble and increasing people's risk of getting malware to have an independent payment channel to get their extra cut and they can't even service transactions properly. One of the major actual services that the google play marketplace provide

      • I know of the credit card problem. The Epic store was a bit rushed - they know that Fortnite is a one-hit-wonder, and they have only limited time to turn that into a sustainable revenue stream, which they are doing by funneling that money into opening their own distribution service. One of the things missing was a shopping basket - instead every game purchase is treated as a separate transaction. Unfortunately the pattern of making lots of small payments to a single recipient is a big red flag to banks, bec

    • Why do you have to side with someone? Why not think for yourself?

  • I don't really have alot of sympathy for Epic here (Score:4, Insightful)

    by wangmaster ( 760932 ) on Tuesday April 21, 2020 @06:11PM (#59973820)

    I get that the google play store security is more lax than iOS. But it's still more than a "random" installer by software developers who (even good ones) make really huge security mistakes. They didn't bitch about Apple's same policies around iOS because they didn't have a choice. Google's policies give you a choice but also makes it pretty clear the risks of going outside the store. And given the initial security bug crap discovered in the epic installer - uhh seems well deserved :)

    If google had simply not given them a choice, they'd have no whining to do :) So I guess there is that. Or maybe they can release a Fortnite OS and get that to hardware manufacturers and through cellular carrier approval policy. I'm sure that'd cost them less money :)

  • User's responsibility (Score:4, Insightful)

    by enigma32 ( 128601 ) on Tuesday April 21, 2020 @06:22PM (#59973842)

    Remember when it used to be the user's responsibility to not install dumb things on their computer hardware?

    Well, that was nice while it lasted...

    • Re:User's responsibility (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Zaelath ( 2588189 ) on Tuesday April 21, 2020 @07:03PM (#59973936)

      Still is, you just get an extra warning that you might be about to do something dumb. Epic are a bunch of whiny babies.

    • And exactly how long did that last? We were sneaker-netting floppy boxes for games back in the day. There was just no Geek Squad to get idiots out of jams.

    • Well, that was nice while it lasted...

      There was nothing nice about it. On more than one occasion it sunk the entire frigging internet with wormable exploits that uses voluntarily opened because Britney_Spears_Naked.jpg.exe.

    • Yes I remember how poorly that worked and how putting your device on the same network as those other users was a high-risk activity since a hundred bad actors probably had root on the unsuspecting users' devices and were looking to find new targets. I like the idea of the user having that level of control but given the results, I'm not sure that I can look back with nostalgia.

  • before anyone cries them a river.. (Score:3)

    by auzy ( 680819 ) on Tuesday April 21, 2020 @06:23PM (#59973850)

    https://www.androidcentral.com... [androidcentral.com]

    Don't forget that their first installer had an exploit in it.

    But I do agree, Apple and Google take too many fees. That being said, at least they can publish their apps independently of the Play store on Android. Problem is, I've never come across an App store on Android which is as refined as Google's (and there is definitely a market for it).

    Apple uses their App store to control competitors and give them a disadvantage though

    • Also, let's talk for a minute about Sony and their rootkits....

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by DrXym ( 126579 )
      Well you have the Amazon store. But the main issue for app developers is that supporting two app stores isn't just a case of submitting the same APK to two different places. Each store wants your app to use their infrastructure and pass their checks, and provide banners in different sizes and fill in their metadata. So two appstores substantially adds to development time, and effectively doubles the amount of effort to build, QA test and publish the more or less the same thing.

      And unsurprisingly app devel

  • Hmm, it's not red enough! This one sucks.

  • How ironic (Score:3)

    by Berkyjay ( 1225604 ) on Tuesday April 21, 2020 @08:55PM (#59974310)

    Epic currently is preventing me from buying and playing a handful of games outside of the Epic store because they bought "exclusive rights" to them. So this is deliciously ironic and I love it.

  • sounds like they are pissed about being called out correctly ...

  • Although lawmakers haven't gotten around to including localized monopolism, and are still calling it "lock-in", because they are deluded into believing that if there is a unrealistic theory choice, then it's "not" monopolism.

    Like "If you don't like my fart-filled oxygen tank, you can pick another vendor! (Which doesn't exist for your situation here under the sea, sooo... you can also choose to NOT breathe. But we will not say that, and lie by omission.)"

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