Steve Allison

GM Epic Games Store

[Steve Allison @halfbakedSteve]

The Epic Games Store is live in Japan on iOS and is the path of return for Fortnite on iOS there! Japanese players can also grab Rocket League Sideswipe. No third-party games are available yet as the new CTC fees and reporting obligations are hard to decipher for studios and creating friction that needs to be overcome. We will continue to work with developers on that as Epic prepares to launch Epic Games Store for iOS in Brazil next.

https://t.co/Cxx1SQSzzg

[Epic Games Newsroom @EpicNewsroom]

The Epic Games Store, Fortnite, and Rocket League Sideswipe are now available on iPhones in Japan, thanks to the Mobile Software Competition Act. We’re launching the store with our games to start, while we continue to work with regulators to enforce the law and eliminate Apple’s scare screens and fees that undermine competition and choice.

https://t.co/EtFDhG0wgC

[Epic Games Newsroom @EpicNewsroom]

The Ninth Circuit Court just reversed their decision granting Apple’s motion to stay the mandate. The Court wrote: “Apple has failed to show good cause to sustain our prior stay order. Apple has not demonstrated that any proceedings on remand will cause it irreparable harm if our decision is not stayed.” Apple charging junk fees on purchases that are made outside the app store hurts consumers and developers and violates the law.

https://t.co/mr5jv9UsVZ

[Steve Allison @halfbakedSteve]

@CongoCart @TimSweeneyEpic The rework is still in progress and will have news on timing soon.

[Epic Games Newsroom @EpicNewsroom]

We just asked the Ninth Circuit Court to reconsider today’s decision granting Apple’s motion to stay the mandate.

We also filed our opposition to the motion to stay, which states: “Apple’s effort to stay this Court’s mandate is about nothing other than delay. While Apple’s commission for linked-out transactions remains subject to judicial review, most developers are reacting to the uncertainty by refraining from steering—so that most transactions continue to flow through Apple’s IAP. Staying the mandate, and thereby delaying the remand proceedings that will need to happen no matter what the Supreme Court does, simply delays relief for consumers and allows Apple to continue reaping supracompetitive profits from IAP.”

Here’s our opposition to Apple’s motion to stay: https://t.co/9bmPWIjtIV

[Tim Sweeney @TimSweeneyEpic]

I feel much of the frustration is whiplash from 18 years of Apple and Google telling the world that security required blocking or impeding competing distribution channels, in parallel with a real 20 year arms race between platforms and actual malware.

Now that Google is being real about open and real about security with three tiers of vetting and friction (preinstalled and registered stores, registered developers, and anonymous installs), there’s lingering skepticism about motives.

The key is to distinguish real security measures that protect large swaths of the 4 billion users store-agnostically from the kinds of pretextual security claims that have been made in the past to enforce those 30% fees. Epic settled with Google on the basis of these vetting tiers because we think it’s legit and is a reasonable balance.

The threat of granny having her life savings stolen by an AI voice call and having her install malware has to be solved with some rigorous way of separating hobbyist and developer installs of anonymous software seeking all OS permissions from unsophisticated device users being scammed. The security complications versus the early days are necessary because the commercial motives to malware are now vast.

Personally I think there’s something huge to celebrate here: 18 years into the smartphone revolution, the #1 smartphone operating system is now a real open platform with 4 billion users. We came scarily close to a dystopian outcome where the Google old guard and prior Windows old guard were working to copy Apple’s scheme and take away user and developer freedom. Those plans now reside on the trash heap of history.

[The Verge @verge]

Epic and Disney now let Fortnite creators make Star Wars games https://t.co/hhPzxQrBKw

[Steve Allison @halfbakedSteve]

Nope - We’ve been fighting for competition in mobile stores and payments for all developers. When Fortnite players buy V-bucks using Epic’s payment system instead of Apple or Google’s they earn 20% back in Epic Rewards. Epic Rewards are granted instantly for Fortnite purchases on mobile or PC.

[Steve Allison @halfbakedSteve]

New Fortnite Season launches tomorrow as does Crimson Desert which will be one of this years gaming high points - celebrate them both by grabbing Crimson Desert on the Epic Games Store and receive the Kliff outfit in Fortnite as a gift with purchase.

[Epic Games Store @EpicGames]

Join Kliff and the Greymanes!

Pre-purchase @CrimsonDesert_ on the Epic Games Store to receive the Kliff Outfit in @Fortnite as a gift-with-purchase! https://t.co/dmWAKtx9VR

[Steve Allison @halfbakedSteve]

This! https://t.co/wU7MXEXoZj

[Steve Allison @halfbakedSteve]

This is a nice recap/ongoing tracker by GameSpot on the collaborations between developers on Epic Games Store and Fortnite collabs that have a gift with purchase mechanic. News on these will trickle in regularly going forward - lots of these to come. Bookmarking this story as it gets updated is an option to stay up to date: https://t.co/qO3mDFVVbi

[Dean Takahashi @deantak]

Here's our exclusive interview with Tim Sweeney (and a bit of Steve Allison) on Epic Games' settlement with Google and the return of Fortnite worldwide on Android. We got Tim's response to reactions about the benefits for game developers and his thoughts on why Epic decided to settle after six-plus years.

https://t.co/E9ITCt7Ez2

[GamesIndustry @GIBiz]

Google has settled its longstanding dispute with Epic Games by updating its Play Store ecosystem, which includes reducing commission rates on in-app purchases to 20%

https://t.co/oFsNvUDEss

[Steve Allison @halfbakedSteve]

Umm - no, very wrong click bait take.

Epic and Tim agreed to not criticize Google related to app store distribution and fees. All other topics are still on the table and criticism is fair game! Tim posted the actual language from the agreement on X earlier today if anyone wants to read it.

[Steve Allison @halfbakedSteve]

People are getting some big things wrong about the Google settlement:

1. criticism between Epic and Google is free and clear as long as it’s not related to the settlement.

2. getting to a settlement means developers will get a better deal starting this year.

Courts typically avoid setting rates so any hope of resolution is a long, drawn out process that takes years and many appeals. All while developers lose along the way.

Now there will be restored competition on Android with reduced fees.

[Steve Allison @halfbakedSteve]

@gamefromscratch @TimSweeneyEpic Big wins for all mobile developers here! For clarity there is no secret muzzle here. What Epic did agree to only is to not criticize on topics related to the settlement. Everything else now and in the future is fair game.

[Steve Allison @halfbakedSteve]

@engadget This is 100% misleading context - Tim and Epic are free to criticize Google, just not related to app distribution and payments

[Steve Allison @halfbakedSteve]

Extremely exciting news! Congrats to all involved. It’s been an incredible experience to have been a small part of the journey. What an excellent outcome for all mobile developers and operators of alternative app stores now and in the future!

[Tim Sweeney @TimSweeneyEpic]

Google is opening up Android all the way with robust support for competing stores, competing payments, and a better deal for all developers. So, we've settled all of our disputes worldwide. THANKS GOOGLE!

[Steve Allison @halfbakedSteve]

This collab is out on the Fortnite item shop on all platforms with several options for Fortnite players AND has a gift with purchase outfit for Honkai: Star Rail players that make a qualifying purchase (https://t.co/PBSvFAnz0g ) on the Epic Games Store! This is a first for us and so far the results look promising on both fronts.

[Honkai: Star Rail @honkaistarrail]

Honkai: Star Rail x Fortnite collab is now live!
Suit up as a Stellaron Hunter and jump into the fight.
The Stellaron Hunters Kafka and Blade collab outfits are available now in the @Fortnite Item shop.
📅 Feb 26 4:00 PM – Mar 4 4:00 PM, 2026 (PT)

BONUS OFFER
Purchase an eligible item in Honkai: Star Rail on Epic Games Store and get the Stellaron Hunter Blade Outfit in Fortnite as a gift-with-purchase.