Google has publicly rebuffed game developer Epic over its reported attempt to distribute its popular battle royale hit Fortnite through the Play Store without paying the company’s standard 30 percent fee.
In a statement to The Verge, Google says the Android platform is dependent on the existing Play Store terms because that is how the company is able to reinvest in its platform to help it grow and to provide ample security measures.
Earlier this year, the company launched its own app store — the Epic Games Store — on Android and in order to attract more developers to their store, the company undercut the Play Store’s revenue model by giving developers 88 per cent of the revenue generated by their apps. However, Epic recently submitted Fortnite to the Play Store and urged Google to provide a special billing exception to circumvent the Play Store’s 30 per cent revenue cut.
According to a report Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney has revealed that the company’s request for an exception is just a part of its goal to bring about a broader industry-wide change. In a statement to the publication, Sweeney said,” We have asked that Google not enforce its publicly stated expectation that products distributed through Google Play use Google’s payment service for in-app purchase. We believe this form of tying a mandatory payment service with a 30 per cent fee is illegal in this case of a distribution platform with over 50 per cent market share. We note that Google Play’s Developer Distribution Agreement does not require developers use Google payments. It merely references a number of non-contractual documents asking developers to do so.”
“Android enables multiple app stores and choices for developers to distribute apps. Google Play has a business model and billing policy that allow us to invest in our platform and tools to help developers build successful businesses while keeping users safe. We welcome any developer that recognizes the value of Google Play and expect them to participate under the same terms as other developers,” said a Google spokesperson .
