Fortnite Mobile & the Implications for e-Sports
E-sports is one of the world’s fastest-growing industries, with global revenues expected to grow to US$1.8bn by 2025.
21-year-old Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf is the most-followed gamer on social media and one of the highest-earning gamers. He has earned over US$3.5mn from playing Fortnite (the fourth most popular e-sports franchise in America), despite the game being pulled from Apple and Google’s app stores in a high-profile antitrust fight.
Anzelle Robertson is the Content and Advertising Director, at the Mobile Ecosystem Forum, a global trade body established in 2000 and headquartered in the UK, with members across the world. It serves as the voice of the mobile ecosystem and focuses on cross-industry best practices, anti-fraud and monetisation. The Forum provides its members with global and cross-sector platforms for networking, collaboration and advancing industry solutions.
In this article, Anzelle looks at the implications of Fortnite’s mobile app returning to iPhones in Europe and Android devices worldwide.
The EU’s Digital Markets Act is redefining mobile payments and app store competition
Epic Games withdrew Fortnite from the App Store in 2020, after disagreeing with Apple's policies, which included charging developers up to 30% commission. However, gamers could still play it via the web.
After a new EU law designed to increase competition was put in place, Developer Epic Games was allowed to run its own app store on Apple devices. Now, anyone with an iPhone can only download apps from Apple's own App Store.
“The mobile content payment landscape is on the cusp of a seismic shift, driven by recent regulatory changes that are set to reshape the way users interact with mobile app stores,” explains Anzelle.
At the heart of this transformation is the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), a piece of legislation aimed at curbing the dominance of Big Tech and fostering competition within the digital marketplace.
“This development is particularly significant for mobile payments, as it opens the door to alternative payment systems and app stores, fundamentally altering the ecosystem that has been dominated by Apple and Google given their position on smartphone operating systems,” she says.
Fortnite’s return and the rise of alternative app stores
The return of Epic Games' Fortnite to the iOS platform in Europe and Android devices worldwide is emblematic of this change. Four years after being removed from Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store in a high-profile antitrust battle, Anzelle says that Fortnite’s comeback marks a victory for Epic Games and a broader shift in the industry.
“With the launch of the Epic Games Store on mobile, alongside other alternative app stores like Aptoide and AltStore, we are witnessing the early stages of a more diverse and competitive app ecosystem,” she says. “These platforms not only provide more choices for consumers but also foster a more developer-friendly environment.”
As the mobile ecosystem continues to evolve under the influence of the DMA, the implications for mobile payments are profound. Anzelle suggests that we will see an increase in the variety of payment methods available to consumers, a reduction in transaction fees and greater innovation in the types of services offered through mobile apps.
“Potentially we are going to see an increase in fraud and mis-selling if companies do not adopt a stricter overseeing activity than we saw in the past,” she adds.
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