The dream of Epic begins to come true: its store will be pre-installed on 'millions' of Android phones.
However, not yet in the United States.
Telefónica, one of the main operators worldwide providing services in the UK, Spain, Germany, and Latin America through the O2 and Movistar networks, has decided to begin the pre-installation of the Epic Games Store on all new compatible Android phones it markets, including Samsung devices. This move is part of a "long-term partnership" between Telefónica and Epic, aimed at making the store and the popular game Fortnite available to "millions" of devices belonging to the operator. This will be the first instance where the Epic Games Store is pre-installed on consumer phones, marking a significant step in Epic's plans to challenge the monopoly of the Google Play Store and increase its revenue share.
Last December, a federal jury unanimously ruled in favor of Epic Games in the Epic vs. Google case, determining that Google had turned its Android app store and the Google Play billing service into an illegal monopoly. Epic had sued Google in 2020, accusing it of having "blocked" or "bribed" phone manufacturers and cellular operators to prevent games like Fortnite and alternative app stores from being pre-installed on devices. Now, approximately a month after Judge James Donato forbade Google from any further blocking or bribing, one of the largest operators in the world will begin these pre-installations, incorporating a competing game store (which could also potentially offer non-gaming apps in the future) onto the Google platform.
In fact, Epic launched its Epic Games Store on mobile devices just last August. Prior to that, it had sought to have almost all phone manufacturers and operators pre-install some of the applications necessary to install Fortnite on their devices. The company offered a variety of deals to incentivize them, and Samsung, LG, OnePlus, and Huawei initially agreed. However, OnePlus only managed to implement it in India, supposedly because it needed a permission that Google would not grant. (Google disputes this justification.) LG apparently backed out due to an existing contract with Google. Telefónica was not one of the operators that were affected by the alleged bribes from Google, as confirmed by Epic spokesperson Natalie Muñoz. Therefore, Judge Donato's order is not the cause of this new possibility.
In fact, Telefónica had already collaborated with Epic in the past. In 2020, it started allowing Movistar customers in Spain to charge their Fortnite purchases to their phone bills. That same year, court documents revealed that Telefónica could expect to earn five percent of the revenue generated by those Fortnite players. Verizon and Hutchison (known as Three, Wind Tre) received similar offers, although it is unknown whether they will follow the same path. It is interesting to consider what Samsung's position will be regarding Telefónica's decision to pre-install the Epic Games Store on its phones, especially given that in September, Epic also sued Samsung.
