For years, Epic Games has been trying to challenge Apple and Google’s duopoly on application stores. The studio’s efforts have been more or less successful, as evidenced by the conclusions of the resounding lawsuit against Apple. Far from giving up, the firm has some success in its fight against Google and announces the signing of a historic partnership with one of the largest operators in the world. Present in the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany and Latin America, Telefónica will pre-install the Epic Games Store on all smartphones marketed by the operator.
The owner of the O2 brands, Movistar and Manx Telecom, will reach tens of millions of subscribers with this measure. All smartphones compatible with the Telefónica network are affected, which includes models from major manufacturers such as Samsung or Xiaomi.
Epic Games returns to smartphones through the front door
The Fortnite publisher has a tumultuous history with mobile. In the past, the mobile version of its phenomenon game was even subject to deletion by Google and Apple from the Play Store and the App Store. The game has made its return and this initiative sounds a bit like revenge for Epic Games. The publisher will be able to compete directly with Google’s Play Store on the Android platform. In December 2023, Epic had already won a historic victory against Google by winning its antitrust lawsuit against the web giant.
Since last summer, it has already been possible to install the Epic Games Store on Android and the operating system has always been quite open on the issue compared to the App Store. However, Google does not necessarily like it when we compete a little too closely with its own application store (Play Store). Having the Epic Games Store pre-installed will allow you to access games without downloading an APK file. The installation and update process becomes much simpler for users, comparable to what they can do through the Play Store.
This partnership represents a significant step forward in Epic’s strategy in the way it distributes its mobile applications. There is no doubt that it could inspire other operators to take inspiration from Telefónica, particularly French operators. Still engaged in its fight, Epic Games recently filed a lawsuit against Samsung and Google. He mainly criticizes the South Korean manufacturer for having an “Auto Blocker” functionality which blocks the installation of applications outside the Google Play Store or the Samsung Galaxy Store.
For Epic, its presence makes installing third-party apps too complicated. Let it be said, the publisher is far from finished in its battle with what it considers to be monopolies in the distribution of mobile applications.
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