Fortnite banned from Google Play Store following Epic payment protest

Fortnite has been banned from the Google Play Store following the recent introduction of a new payment scheme that violates the storefront’s terms and agreements. 

The payment scheme arrived under a new update that saw players being able to choose between Play Store Payment and Epic Direct Payment, the latter of which was 20% cheaper and purposefully bypassed Google’s payment scheme.

Epic’s scheme also took place on iOS devices where the game was banned earlier today. Following their removal from the iOS App Store, Epic filed a lawsuit against Apple and released a parody of their Macintosh 1984 advertisement – Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite – across social media and within the game.

Google has since responded on the subject of Epic Games’ introduction of a secondary payment method in a statement to The Verge:

The open Android ecosystem lets developers distribute apps through multiple app stores. For game developers who choose to use the Play Store, we have consistent policies that are fair to developers and keep the store safe for users. While Fortnite remains available on Android, we can no longer make it available on Play because it violates our policies. However, we welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions with Epic and bring Fortnite back to Google Play.

Epic originally launched Fortnite on Android through its proprietary downloadable APK that meant Epic got all of the profit from in-game purchases. However, after a lengthy period, the game was brought to the Google Play Store. Despite Epic’s complaining, Google refused to exempt the game from its standard 30% cut on revenue.