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By 30 July 2018 | Categories: news

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As one of the most popular games right now, it’s safe to say that Fortnite Battle Royale is hotly anticipated on the Android platform. That said, could there be a spanner in the works that will see the free-to-play game being unavailable on the Google Play app store?

XDA reports that the game might be launched as an exclusive for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 on the 9th of August, and that there’s even a list of Android phones that the game will be available for. But, at the same time, XDA discovered code on the Fortnight mobile page that instructs Android users on how to download and install the game on their device – outside of the Play Store.

XDA speculates that the reason why Android users could be prompted to install the game from another source might just have to do with revenue sharing. Unlike Apple’s iOS, it’s possible to install apps on Android phones without having to work through the Google Play Store.

Although Fortnite is free to play, the developers, Epic Games make their money through in-game transactions on add-ons like skins. Installing the game through another source would allow Epic to circumvent Google’s 30% cut in revenue for Play’s In-app Billing. XDA notes that if revenue from Android users reaches $2 million per day, the same as what was reached on iOS, the company might just be saving as much as $600 000 per day. That’s certainly not pocket money.

Having said that, working through Google Play is still the easiest way to download and install apps on Android. Will Epic Games hedge their bets by offering both options, and perhaps rewarding gamers if they don’t work through Google Play? Time will tell, but what’s sure is that Fortnite Battle Royale on Android is going to be massive.

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