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[Eurogamer] Fortnite on Android doesn't use Google Play
- Thread starter dex3108
- Start date
wouldn't competition among services imply selling it both directly AND on google play
If they could bypass Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, and Apple they would.
It's more money for the company so it's not a surprise.
They are just taking advantage of that fact that Android is the only open platform out of the popular ones.
Tencent doesn't own Epic completely but if they did, I'd be very concerned with this game installing through a backdoor on my phone.
Chinese companies a.k.a. the Chinese government is one of the least trustworthy entities in the world.
It's more money for the company so it's not a surprise.
They are just taking advantage of that fact that Android is the only open platform out of the popular ones.
Tencent doesn't own Epic completely but if they did, I'd be very concerned with this game installing through a backdoor on my phone.
Chinese companies a.k.a. the Chinese government is one of the least trustworthy entities in the world.
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The upside is they're getting 100% of the revenue. It doesn't seem like there'd be any upside to players.
Haven't read the article yet, but depending on how they plan to do the install, it might require the user to go into his settings and allow the installation of APKs from "untrusted sources" in the security settings. Thats .... a very big deal for the average joe imo.
This.
Doesn't this have some potential security implications since this is essentially a sideliad requiring dev mode activated?
Fortnite is not some gem waiting to be discovered. It doesn't need exposure.
Got a sneaking suspicion Google will be just fine lol.
FortniteOS coming soon, though!
You don't need dev mode to just allow the OS to install 3rd party app.
Android now has an "Allow Unknown Sources" settings per app. No global setting IIRC.
We feel customers benefit from competing software sources, so we've decided to keep our game off a competing software source.
Also the APK for Fortnite shouldn't be signed this way. Iirc correctly, only way to get your APK signed is by uploading it to the Play Store.
Sure but people being able to see the game simply by opening the store wouldn't hurt.
Not dev mode, allowing to install packages from unknown sources is enough. And it will be prompted when you'll try to install the game.
There isn't actually a upside for customer here it's just they want to keep more money in their pockets.
Yeah not really feasible on iPhone. If they could, they would.
That's a big middle finger to Google, but I can't really say that I blame Epic here. It seems silly for them to pay a 30% tax on basically nothing. Fortnite certainly doesn't need the exposure that the Google Play store would offer either.
Believe it or not though, there's people who aren't really gamers who don't know about the game, and browsing the store would be the only way they'd know it about.
Yeah, considering the APK won't have proper google cert signed, coupled with all kinds of malware possibilities, it's certainly going to be interesting.
Plus Tencent spying as a bonus! Also, there are going to be people duped into downloading malware from shady sites because they got transferred, clicked in the wrong place etc...
On a separate note, good on Google to allow 3rd party install permissions per app without dev mode (haven't properly used Android in years besides locked down work device).
if it were a paid app, this might be more of an issue due to piracy from sketchy sites, but i think most fornite players would know to go the official epic site to download it, just as they did the pc desktop version.
And moves like this just make it more likely that Google will further lock down sideloading of apps, which definitely isn't a positive for the customer.
Lots of V-Bucks scams will have people do this.
Bad look, Tencent. I don't trust companies that are loyal to the CCP
Android is an open platform that proposes multiple ways of distribution, your statement kinda makes no sense.
There's no such thing as "unsigned software" here it's just another way to distribute the game.
https://developer.android.com/distribute/marketing-tools/alternative-distribution
Let's be real, most Android devices are loaded to boot with Google so I really doubt people care about spying at this point.
I was actually thinking about making a topic for this since gamers seem to be one of the least caring communities about privacy, literally everything we do is tracked and recorded, and nobody bats an eye. We are the product.
Exactly. This is gonna a huge pain in the ass for Epic moreso than they realize
I think that might be just for Oreo though. Older versions of Android still have that "Allow Unknown Sources" as a global settings, don't they?
I can see this opening the opportunity for scammers to install fishy APKs on people's machines. Not any different than Fortnite on PC but I feel like some of the primary target for these kind of attacks have moved to mobile (in part thanks to its avoidance of these issues).
You can sign your app yourself before uploading it to Google Play.
You can sign your app yourself before uploading it to Google Play.