Fortnite developer Epic Games claims victory over Google in Play Store battle

There’s been a lot going on with Fortnite and Epic Games this year already, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Now, Google re-enters the ring after recent tumult with Apple and Samsung. It’s like Fortnite is collecting the Infinity Stones of gigantic brand collisions.

This time, it’s not all bad news. Epic Games is victorious over Google (for now), as the ruling by Judge James Donato means Google Play must allow third-party stores for the next three years. This has held firm, despite Google appealing against the ruling a few times. Google has previously had accusations of holding an absolute monopoly over the Android app market, but the Epic Games Store may now safely return.

Here’s a brief rundown of what’s happened in 2025 so far: Epic Games and Apple have been in a tough battle for over four years since the removal of Fortnite from the App Store in the US. Epic Games won and vowed to get Fortnite back on iOS devices ASAP. However, this promise only lasted about a week before Apple once again blocked Epic’s submission of the game to the App Store.

In recent months, Samsung joined Epic’s legal battle royale, in which the two sides debated whether Samsung blocked downloads on its devices from other app stores – namely, the Epic Games Store. And then, in July, it turned out that you won’t be getting a dedicated Fortnite app outside of the Epic app on iOS in the UK.

Tune in next time for more updates to the ongoing saga to see what problem Epic Games and Fortnite face next. In the meantime, you can check out our Fortnite skins list to see what our favorite fashions are in the battle royale game.