Google is missing out $50 million because of Fortnite’s decision to bypass Play Store

The launch of Fortnite Android Beta was announced on Epic Games website on August 9, stating that players with Samsung Galaxy devices are the first to be invited. It will open for other devices over the next few days. The game is directly available on their official website for Android users bypassing the Google Play Store.

Players will get access to Fortnite Battle Royale in waves. You need to sign-up at Fortnite.com/Android and the download instructions will be shared with you via email.

Why did Fortnite bypass Google Play Store?

One reason could be that they have already made a audience base and do not need any other app distribution store to make them more popular.

Though there are ways to bypass the Apple’s App Store, it is a bit tricky. You can use methods like sideloading to download an app which is not available in the App Store. Unlike Apple, Android is much more flexible and users can easily download the application from other websites. This loophole could be used to save the 30% of the revenue Fortnite will need to share with Google.

How does Fornite’s decision impact users and Google?

This move could result in more than just missing out the 30% shares in revenue for Google, if other big game developers also decide to distribute their games independently.

For customers the risks lies in terms of security. We can adjust an Android device’s settings to download apps and games from anywhere on the web. This makes the devices more prone to security risks, malware infections, and other malicious attacks. Secondly, those users who are not aware that Fortnite in not available on Play Store could be fooled into downloading apps masquerading as Fortnite.

To know more about Fortnite bypassing Google Play store, refer to the TechCrunch’s report.

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